Time Out of Mind
by Rhyein
Summary: What if Squall showed up too late in the past to distract Edea into getting Ulti's power? // 13 out of ? plus prologue// Rated R for language.
1. Prologue

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Author's Note: Okay, everybody knows that these characters are property of Squaresoft… You all know that… Yah yah, I'm updating all the chapters right now so they're prettier and not so full of grammatical errors… -Rhyein

***

"I'm gonna find Sis!" Squall shouted, running out of the house.

"Squall! …Squall come back here!" Edea said, running after him.

(I'm gonna find Sis! I'm not comin' back 'til I do!!) Squall ran out into the yard and away from the house, toward the forest. Edea ran after him, it was too dangerous for him to be alone. There were still many monsters left over from the Lunar Cry that had destroyed Centra years before; he might get killed.

"Squall! Come back here right now!!" Edea stopped and looked around, she couldn't see Squall anymore.

Squall snuck back in the direction he had come, Sis had left by boat and that's how he was gonna go. He giggled silently, watching Matron look around frantically for him. He turned and ran back toward the house. Squall was planning on going to the beach and getting on Edea's small raft, then setting out to find Sis. Matron usually used the boat to go to Winhill to get more supplies when the orphanage needed it. Squall had been with her a few times, so he knew how to pilot the craft. 

(I'm gonna find Sis!) Squall was almost back to the house, when he slid to a halt. A woman, very badly hurt, with black wings and weird clothes suddenly emerged in between him and the house. She had appeared out of thin air. Squall cautiously moved toward her. She was obviously dying.

"R yoo alwight lady?" Squall asked, moving closer. Out of the corner of his eye, Squall saw another figure. He turned sharply to see a man, wearing all black, with a gunblade in his hand, standing there. The man looked at Squall and his eyes got wider.

"Don't go near her!" the man shouted running toward Squall and the woman.

"I can't disappear yet!" the woman gasped. Squall saw a bright flash of light and suddenly everything with black.

***

The alarm clock sounded loudly, reverberating throughout the small dorm room. The person lying in bed next to the alarm clock rolled over sluggishly and turned it off. He sat up slowly and stared at the clock, it was seven o'clock in the morning.

(Seven? …Why is my alarm set for seven?) He thought groggily, rubbing his eyes. He turned, put his feet on the floor, and placed his head in his hands.

"Ugh…" he groaned. The man stood up and walked over to the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. He stared at himself, trying to remember why he'd set his alarm for so early. "…Oh yeah…" his eyes lit up with comprehension. "…The fire cavern…" He sat down on the end of his bed and pulled his socks and boots on.

(I hate this… If only the SeeD exam wasn't today…) He pulled a white T-shirt on over his head.

(I guess I'll have to go with Instructor Trepe… I wonder if she's awake yet…) Finally, he buckled two belts around his waist, and pulled his fur-lined jacket on. He stood there for a second making sure he had everything. His gunblade was lying in its case up against the wall next to the door.

(If she's not, I guess I'll get Instructor Aki to go with me… Aki is always awake…) He walked over to the door and pulled his gunblade out of the case. Then he noticed that he had forgotten his gloves. He sighed loudly and looked around the room. His gloves were lying on the table next to his bed, underneath his alarm clock. He strode across the room and laid the gunblade down on his bed. He picked up his alarm clock and grabbed the black leather gloves out from underneath.

***

"There he is… That little shit thinks he's too good for the rest of us… I'll show him."

"Yeah, he so stuck up, ya know?" Seifer stood in the hallway with Raijin and Fujin, his "posse." They were watching as Squall, who was Seifer's biggest rival in Garden, walked toward the elevator. Seifer intercepted him at the stairwell.

"Where you going so early?" Seifer remarked, his palm resting on the handle of his gunblade. Squall and Seifer were the only two people in Balamb Garden who used gunblades; everyone else preferred more modern weapons. Squall stopped as Seifer got into his face.

"Leave me alone Seifer…" Squall said quietly, making to go around. Seifer stepped in front of him again.

"Whassamatter Squallie? You too good to talk to us?" Squall sighed and rested his hand on his hip, staring at the floor.

"Just… tch… nevermind."

"Just what?" Seifer got into Squall's face. "Just… WHAT?"

"Nothing! Just leave me alone!" Squall tried to get around Seifer again.

"That's not what you were gonna say! Come on! What were you _really_ gonna say puberty-boy?" Squall took a deep breath.

(I don't have time for this…)

"Seifer…. Just back off…" Squall muttered angrily.

"Or you'll do what?" Seifer grinned; this was just what he was waiting for... a chance to see how good Squall really was with that gunblade. Squall raised his eyes to Seifer's.

"Don't Seifer… Believe me… You'll regret it…" Seifer took a step closer to Squall.

"Them's fightin' words ass-wipe…" Seifer was right in Squall's face, looking down into Squall's clear blue eyes. Raijin and Fujin silently watched the staring contest. Squall stared up into Seifer's face, anger flaring up inside.

"Anytime you wanna back up those boasts of yours…" Squall snarled.

"Ten minutes, outside Garden…"

"I'll be there." Squall turned and walked away from Seifer and the rest of the disciplinary committee, his anger boiling.

***

"He's not coming, ya know? He's scared of ya, ya know?" Raijin said. Seifer was standing on a cliff side, in full view of Garden, pacing. Fujin was standing to the side.

"SQUALL," she declared, pointing. Seifer stopped pacing and drew his gunblade. Squall was walking purposely toward them.

(What was I thinking? …I gotta be insane…) Seifer thought, watching Squall's intimidating frame approach him. Squall was four inches shorter than Seifer and still struck a rather frightening pose. There was just something about him that made you either like him, made you scared of him, or both. Squall stopped a few feet away and drew his gunblade. Silently they saluted one another and stood ready.

"Alright, I'm gonna tell ya the rules, ya know? So it's a fair fight and all, ya know?" Raijin looked from one man to the next. They both nodded. "Alright. No magick, and first person to draw blood wins, ya know? Is that okay with you two?" Again, they both nodded. Raijin joined Fujin a few feet away. "Okay, go!" Seifer attacked first.

Fujin and Raijin stepped to the side and watched quietly from a distance. The battle was intense. Squall really was as good as everyone said he was... probably even better. They watched as Squall and Seifer used the whole plateau, moving from one side to the other. It looked like Seifer was winning. He was deliberately taunting Squall. After what seemed like hours, Seifer started to get visibly tired. Fujin and Raijin knew what that meant. Sure enough, Seifer moved away from Squall and got some breathing space, just enough. As Squall ran toward the stationary man, Seifer raised his hand and turned his head slightly to the side, his outstretch arm glowing orange. Squall slid to a stop and tried to turn, but it was too late. A fireball shot out of Seifer's hand toward Squall and hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Seifer advanced upon Squall as he struggled to get to his feet. The gunblade came up over Seifer's head and he brought it down again with all his might, the tip barely scraping the skin of Squall's face. Blood spattered the ground; Squall stared at it and looked up at Seifer angrily, pulling himself and his gunblade up. The tip of Squall's blade slid across the ground, sending sparks everywhere as he brought it up and reflected Seifer's movements, adding more blood to the rocks. This time however, it wasn't his.

"STOP!" Fujin interjected. The two men stared at one another, breathing heavily.

"Yeah! That's enough, ya know!?" Raijin and Fujin came in between the two warriors. Seifer glared at Squall as Fujin handed him a towel. Seifer took the towel and wiped his face, adding sweat and blood to the piece of cloth. Fujin looked down at her watch.

"CLASS…" She nodded back toward Garden. Seifer looked at her, then at Squall.

"Later wuss…" he said as he and the rest of the disciplinary committee walked away. Squall watched them disappear behind the rocks and fell to his knees. His head was throbbing. He raised a gloved hand to his forehead and looked at it. The black leather was glossy with his blood. He lied back on the rocks, breathing heavily, waiting. Slowly, the pain subsided and his head stopped throbbing. He raised his other hand to his forehead and looked at it, no blood. Squall stood up, sheathed his gunblade, and walked back down toward Garden… He was gonna be late for class.


	2. The Fire Cavern

Quistis Trepe walked briskly through the halls toward her classroom. Homeroom was to begin in three minutes. She slowed down as she approached the classroom door. Fujin and Raijin were walking toward her, away from the classroom. She continued on, listening half-heartedly to what they were saying, or more accurately, what Raijin was saying.

"I can't believe it, ya know? Seifer beat him, ya know?" Raijin stated animatedly. Fujin shook her head.

"CHEATED."

"Well, Squall was asking for it, ya know?" Fujin noticed Quistis walking slowly by them, listening. She kicked Raijin. "OW! What was that for?" Fujin just kept walking. Quistis watched the pair curiously as they left her view.

(I wonder what that was about…) she thought. The door to the classroom opened with a swish. The students saw her and quickly began to take their seats. Quistis walked to her desk and laid her notebook down. She sat, facing the class and soon saw what Raijin and Fujin must've been talking about. Seifer was sitting in his usual seat, in the very back of the room, and across his nose, running from left to right, looking rather aggravated and painful was a very large, very _new_ gash. Quistis cleared her throat.

"Good morning everyone… Seifer, what happened to your face?" Quistis said pointedly.

"Ah… It's nuthin' Instructor… You should see the other guy…" Seifer grinned as a few people in the classroom giggled at his remark. Quistis sighed. Next to her, the door opened, and Squall Leonhart stalked into the room. He glanced at Quistis, then at Seifer and took his seat.

"Sorry I'm late Instructor…" he murmured. Seifer's grin faded as Squall took his seat. Squall looked at him again and Seifer blinked.

(Wha-fa!? …For a second there it looked like he didn't have a scratch!!) Seifer thought. (Nah! I'm just dreamin'… I felt the blade hit him… I saw the blood, there's no way… I've gotta be seeing things…) Seifer turned his face forward as Quistis began to speak.

"…Pending further interruptions, let's get on with today's schedule… There have been rumours darting around… Yes, the field exam for SeeD candidates is this afternoon. Those not participating and those who failed the written exam last week are to stay here in a study hall. Those participating in the Field Exam will have free time until the exam to prepare. Just be sure you're ready by 1600 hours. You are to meet in the hallway next to the directory, understood?" Quistis glanced around the room. "The team assignments will be announced there, by myself. Any questions? …Good. Class is dismissed… Squall, will you please wait a moment?"

The noise level in the room suddenly rose as the students clamoured out. Quistis stayed by her desk, talking with some of the "Trepies," Quistis's in-Garden Fan Club. Squall waited until most of the class, including Seifer, had left, then stood up. He slowly walked to the front of the class, making the Trepies disperse. Quistis crossed her arms and stared at Squall. He was an extremely handsome boy, with blue-grey eyes, and maple coloured hair. Even Quistis, Squall's greatest supporter, however, had to admit that he was fiercely independent, a bit aloof, and overly taciturn. She noticed as he pushed his hair back, that he had a small white scratch running diagonally across his nose, from right to left. It was almost identical to Seifer's hulking gash, but not nearly as serious, and even as she watched it, it was fading away. Squall shifted his weight impatiently.

"Oh-" Quistis caught herself and remembered what she wanted to say. "Ahem… Um, Squall? Have you been to the fire cavern yet?" Squall rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"…No," he answered. Quistis unfolded her arms and shook her head.

"Squall that is an important prerequisite to the Field Exam… You'll have to use your free time before the exam to do it…" Squall stared passively at the floor.

(I would've gone this morning if Seifer hadn't been such a pain in the…)

"Do you have a good excuse as to why you haven't gone yet?" Quistis asked impatiently. Squall shook his head.

"Not really…" Quistis squinted at him, analysing his answer. She had a feeling that Seifer's cut had something to do with Squall not having been to the fire cavern.

"Alright then, meet me at the front gate in about ten minutes… Don't forget your GF." Quistis turned on her heel and walked out of the room, Trepies in tow. Squall glared after her and left the room. He stalked toward the elevator.

(Of course I won't forget my GF… Does she take me for a fool? …I'm never gonna get a chance to check out my face either…) Squall thought, annoyed. Squall was torn out of his internal conversation with the arrival of a girl. She had run head-on into Squall. She stood up, straightening her blue SeeD candidate uniform and smiled at him.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

"…" Squall just stared at her, horrified that she had actually come into physical contact with him.

(He looks at me as if I'm going to disintegrate…) the girl thought.

"Hey… Did you just come from that class?" she asked cautiously, pointing in the direction of Instructor Trepe's class. Squall nodded. "Is class… over?" Squall nodded again. "OH NOOOOoooo!!!!" she moaned. "This place is sooo enormous!! Much bigger than my last Garden! …Hey, since I'm new, do you think you could show me around? I might be able to get around more easily…" Squall thought for a second and then sighed.

"Alright… I'll show you the directory, but I'm in a hurry right now, so it'll be really quick…" The girl grinned widely.

"Thanks!!" Squall rolled his eyes and walked toward the elevator, the girl following excitedly behind. Squall and the girl stepped into the elevator and he pushed the first floor button. The elevator descended quickly, allowing no time for Squall to brood over this morning's scuffle with Seifer. He exited the elevator with the girl pursuing close behind. Squall stopped at the top of the stairs and pointed.

"That's the directory… I'll show you how to use it." The girl grinned and followed Squall down the stairs to the large computer in the centre of the floor. "It's just like a big map of the main floor… Each section is labelled in a colour; that should make it easier for you to find things, just remember the colour. Anyway, here's the gate…" Squall pointed to the map, "And there's the real gate…" Squall pointed past the map at a large opening with traffic control doorways. "Everything else is just around in a circle, the Infirmary, the Quad, the Cafeteria, the Dorms are directly opposite from us, then the Garage, the Training Centre… careful, there are real monsters running around in there… and the Library… You know where the 2nd floor class room is, and the Headmaster's office is on the 3rd floor, but you have to get permission to go up there…" The girl nodded eagerly.

"What's the Headmaster's name?"

"Headmaster Cid Kramer… but we just call him Headmaster Cid…"

"Oh, okay! Thanks!" Squall just nodded and started to walk away. "Hey!" Squall turned around again. "You're taking the exam today right?" Squall nodded. "Good luck!" She smiled again and sprinted off. Squall just shook his head and made his way to the front gate. He walked through the traffic gate and down the main, outdoor staircase.

(Why do I let Seifer get to me? …He's nothing but an attention hog, he probably just wants to tell everyone that he beat me in combat…) Squall walked slowly along, thinking. He stopped as a student ran across his path to the draw point on the other side. Squall scowled and shook his head.

(…Junctioned magick is so annoying… I'm glad I don't have to put up with it…) He started walking toward the front gate again. Behind Squall another girl was watching him. She had short brown hair, a blue shirt, a white skirt, and a green shawl wrapped around her small frame. She watched him slowly walk out of view, and smiled to herself.

"So we meet again, Squall…" she whispered to herself. Squall kept walking, not paying attention to anything around him. 

(I wonder how Seifer's gonna react to him having a scar and me not having a mark…) Squall chuckled silently to himself. (I'd love to see his face when someone tells him…)

"There you are! Are you ready to go?" Squall looked up and found that he was at the front gate, and the person speaking was Instructor Trepe.

"…Yeah."

"Good! Do you have your GF junctioned?" Squall nodded, somewhat annoyed. "Alright! I was just making sure… Okay, the fire cavern is east of the Garden, on the other side of the forest… Are you ready?" Squall nodded again. "Let's go!" Quistis ran off of Garden property and toward the forest a few kilometres away. Squall shook his head exasperatedly and sprinted after her.

***

"There's the fire cavern," Quistis said, coming to a stop. The sprint over had gone without incident, and now here they were. "Are you nervous?" she asked, hoping for a little emotion from the silent boy. Squall shrugged.

"…Whatever…" Quistis rolled her eyes, that was Squall's universal answer to anything.

"Fine… Before we go in, I want to explain magick junctioning in a little more detail, we don't really cover it well in class…"

"That's okay… You don't need to," Squall interrupted impatiently; he had caught up on a lot of lost sleep the day they covered magick junctioning. Quistis frowned.

"Okay… If you don't think you need it… Then let's go." Squall and Quistis walked up the path to the two Garden Faculty members standing at the mouth of the cave.

"Your objective is to obtain a low-level GF. A SeeD member must support… Are you ready?" the Faculty member asked. Squall came to attention and saluted.

"I'm ready."

"Instructor Number 14, Quistis Trepe… I'm his support," Quistis said, also saluting.

"You have a twenty minute time limit. Good luck." The two Faculty members parted as Squall and Quistis walked in.

"This is it… Let's get it done!" Squall nodded and ran down the narrow pathway. It was very hot, and there were lava pits on either side of the path. The pits made Squall somewhat nervous, but he kept going, this was gonna be easy. "You know, boys get really nervous when I come with them for this… I guess my winning charm upsets them…" Quistis smiled. Squall stopped and looked back at her.

(…Whatever…)

"Hey! I was just kidding! Tension breaker type thing…" Squall just rolled his eyes and turned around again.

(Jeez… He's so serious…!) Squall just kept running trying to make it to the end sooner so he could have more time to fight the GF.

"WAIT!" Squall slid to a stop and turned, thinking they had been attacked. Quistis was just standing there, arms crossed. He looked at her confused. She pointed to the right. His eyes followed her hand and saw a draw point a little ways away, behind a rock. He sighed and motioned for her to go draw.

"Don't you want it?" Squall put his hand on his hip and sighed again. "Alright! If you're sure…" Quistis jogged to the draw point and absorbed a few fire spells, then rejoined Squall. He resumed his sprint toward the fire pit at the end of the path.

"I was right, you and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both are amazing…" Squall ignored her and slowed down as he came upon the fire pit. "This is it… Are you ready?" Squall shrugged.

(Whatever…) Suddenly a large object flew out of the fire pit, landing in front of the two teenagers. It was the GF. Squall quickly analysed the hulking beast.

(…He lives in a fire pit so the obvious is to cast ice spells and to use Shiva…) Squall glanced at Quistis.

"You cast blizzard spells, and I'll summon Shiva!" he shouted at her. Quistis nodded. She closed her eyes and pulled one of her junctioned blizzard spells out of the recesses of her mind and threw her hands in front of her, causing a large block of ice to form and fall on the GF's head. Squall wiped all thoughts out of his mind and called silently upon Shiva. Suddenly he felt himself become very light, almost like he was flying. He opened his eyes and watched as Quistis became transparent, then disappear completely. Near him, a large chunk of ice shot out of the ground. Incased in the ice was Shiva. Squall watched as Shiva broke out of the ice and threw her hands out, causing a large path of ice to form in front of her, and then shatter, as she disappeared. The GF was visibly hurt by the powerful ice attack.

"THEY HAVE SHIVA!" he roared. Squall looked back at where Quistis was supposed to be and saw her reappear slowly. She was already casting another blizzard spell. He smirked a little and prepared to call Shiva again. Quistis threw blizzard after blizzard at the GF as Squall readied Shiva. Suddenly, Quistis called upon another blizzard spell, and nothing happened.

(Shit! I ran out of spells!) She thought quickly and jumped forward, snapping her whip on the flesh of the GF. He roared loudly and jumped into the air.

"IMPUDENT HUMANS!" he snarled as he came back down upon Quistis. She screamed as he hit her and jumped back again. Squall's concentration was broken by Quistis's scream. He looked sharply at her and saw blood running down her face. She straightened uncertainly and stood ready.

"I'm out of ice spells!" she shouted at Squall.

(Dammit! So much for the fun way…) Squall closed his eyes again and put his hand out in front of him. Quistis watched as his arm turned a light blue colour and the GF froze. Suddenly a shaft of ice shot out of the ground underneath the GF and splintered.

(A blizzaga spell… Where did he get one of those?) The GF roared in pain.

"I LOST TO HUMAN! VERY WELL, I WILL JOIN YOU…" The GF disintegrated into small red particles, floating in the air… suddenly the particles flew at Squall and disappeared. Quistis walked slowly over to Squall.

"Very good, the GF's name is Ifrit, he is an elemental GF. You know about those right?" Squall nodded.

"…Are you… alright?" Squall asked awkwardly. Quistis touched her head; it was pretty painful, but not serious.

"Nothing a cure spell won't fix…" she smiled. "Come on, let's go back to Garden."

***

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Author's Note: Ah, more updating. ^_^ Bet it's easier to read now. Enzyvay, disclaimer junk… yada yada… I had to upgrade this fic's rating to R due to language that gets really bad later. R&R.

-Rhyein


	3. SeeD Exam

"Well, here we are… It's pretty obvious that you passed the fire cavern test… Be sure that you make it to the directory by 1600 hours, for your exam assignments. Until then, you have free time," Quistis Trepe informed her student. Squall nodded and started to walk away. "Oh, and Squall?" Squall stopped, but didn't turn. "Don't forget to change into your candidate uniform…" Quistis smiled as Squall snorted and strode away.

(He really is nice to look at… especially from behind…) Quistis giggled. (Oh, Quistis Trepe! You know better! He's a student and you're an instructor!) Quistis chided herself and walked back into Garden, heading toward the Infirmary.

***

Squall entered his dorm room and turned on the light. He was in a double room, meaning he was supposed to have a roommate. Squall had never had a roommate; no one seemed to want to room with him. He didn't mind, it just meant that he didn't have to argue with someone about lights out or have to listen to someone snore in the next room. Squall walked into his own little room and threw his jacket on the bed. He sat down next to it and put his face in his hands, rubbing his temple, then his eyes. He looked over his fingertips into the mirror opposite of him. It was a full-length mirror; he had always hated it. Especially when he would wake up from one of his nightmares and see himself. It always startled him. He glanced at the clock, 12:00 p.m. He still had four hours until the exam. Squall stared at himself blankly, pondering whether to rest up or not, when he remembered his forehead. He stood up and walked quickly to the mirror, pushing his hair back with a black-leather palm. He stared in the mirror at his face, where Seifer's gunblade, Hyperion, had cut his flesh. There wasn't a mark, nothing, except a pale white scratch, barely even there. Just like all the other scars Squall was supposed to have gotten, it was just a discoloured sliver of skin. He knew that in a few weeks it would disappear and no one would ever know it had been there at all.

(I guess being a sorcerer does have its perks…) he thought ruefully, lying down on the bed.

***

Cid Kramer, headmaster of Balamb Garden, watched over the bustling students with a kind of fatherly smile. He knew most of the student's names; he made it a priority of his to know at least that. He sighed.

(Another SeeD exam today… I wonder who is being considered…) Cid walked away from his office window and looked at the list on his desk.

Almasy, Seifer (B)

Amano, Tetsuya (D)

Dincht, Zell (B)

Geeson, Nida (D)

Kazeno, Raijin (C)

Kazeno, Fujin (D)

Kitase, Takechi (A)

Kobyashi, Aiko (C)

Leonhart, Squall (B)

Shibata, Koji (A)

Tilmett, Selphie (A)

Yamashita, Kumi (C)

Cid smiled. Squall, Selphie, Zell and Seifer were all being considered. Well, Seifer has been considered a number of times; Cid wasn't very surprised to see his name on the list. Selphie, she had just come from Trabia Garden.

(Little Sefie… All grown up… Zell… Well, I've always known he'd make it… Squall…) That was a name that Cid stared at for a while. It was extremely ironic that he was a SeeD candidate at all. SeeD was formed to destroy the sorceress, and well, Squall wasn't exactly a sorcer_ess_… Actually, Squall was ten times more dangerous than any sorceress was… Still…

"Headmaster Cid?" Xu cleared her throat. Cid looked up from the list.

"Yes, Xu?"

"It's time, sir…" Cid nodded and put the list down. He glanced out the window one last time before shuffling out of his office after the female SeeD.

***

"Squall! Come over here!" Quistis voiced. Squall walked toward the Instructor. Quistis looked Squall over; he wore his SeeD candidate uniform in the same style as his normal clothing, with the jacket open and his lion necklace hanging over a white T-shirt.

(Of course he couldn't forget his gloves, not even this once…) Quistis frowned. She had had many arguments with Squall about his gloves, he always argued that they helped with the grip on his gunblade. Which was possible, as Seifer always wore gloves too, Quistis had to admit, but she could tell there was something else, another reason that he wasn't saying out loud. The arguments had come to an end when Headmaster Cid declared that Squall could wear the gloves.

"I will be announcing the team assignments as soon as everyone else arrives. Squall nodded and folded his arms. Quistis glanced around, mentally checking off students as they arrived. Seifer, Fujin and Raijin were still absent, but she knew that they'd be there soon.

"Ahem…" Quistis cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the students around her. "I will address you each by name and tell you which Team you will be on. There are four teams total. Each team will have a captain assigned by me… The following will be in Team D… Tetsuya Amano! …Nida Geeson! …And… Fujin Kazeno! The team captain is Tetsuya Amano…" Two students stepped forward and accepted their assignment.

"Team C will be …Raijin Kazeno! …Kumi Yamashita! …And Aiko Kobyashi! The team captain is Kumi Yamashita…" Two more students came forward.

"Team A is composed of Selphie Tilmett, Koji Shibata, and …Takechi Kitase! The team captain is Koji Shibata!" Three people stepped forward; including the girl Squall had run into that morning. All that was left standing there was Squall.

"…What? Am I on a team by myself?" Squall asked sarcastically. Quistis suppressed a smile.

"No, you're with… Zell, Zell Dincht…" Squall groaned. "Zell is quite a 'lively' fellow…" Squall looked at her with extreme displeasure.

(He's just a big pain in the…)

"Can't I change team-mates?" Quistis shook her head.

"I'm afraid not… Look, there he is. Zell! Zell Dincht!" Squall turned and saw Zell "practising his moves." Squall could tell this exam wasn't going to be as fun as he had hoped. Zell turned at the sound of his name being called, and did a back flip, landing in front of Squall. Zell was a little surprised when he looked up from the flip. Most people took a step back when he did that. Then Zell realised whose chest he was staring at… Zell swallowed hard and took a step back. It was Squall "The Lion" Leonhart.

"I-I'm with YOU?" Zell said in shock. Squall rolled his eyes and stared at the floor. Zell rubbed his hand on his pant leg and held it out. Squall looked at Zell's hand, then at Zell, then at Quistis, and returned his gaze to the floor. Zell put his hand down awkwardly. "Um… So… You don't like Seifer much do you? I hear he kicked your ass this morning… Looks like he was exaggerating as usual though…" Squall ignored Zell. "Hey, Seifer's just a pain in the ass… All you gotta do is ignore him."

"Zell, that's none of your business… And I'm sorry, but Seifer is your team captain…" Zell took a step back, like someone had hit him in the stomach. Squall looked up sharply.

"Wh-WHAT?"

"I'm sorry, it can't be changed… That's how it was divided up…" As if cued, Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin walk into view. "Ah, and here is your illustrious leader now… Fujin, you're on Team D and Raijin you're on Team C… Seifer you're the captain of Team B… Good luck." Seifer scowled, but said nothing. Raijin had just pointed out Squall to him. "Alright, I am the Instructor in charge of Team B, and I expect co-operation among _all_ of its members…" Quistis said eyeing Seifer.

"Hey, co-operation means staying outta my way! Team B rule! Don't forget it," Seifer ordered. Zell stepped toward Seifer with clenched fists. The only thing that stopped him from trying to take Seifer on right then and there was the voice of Headmaster Cid.

"Is everyone here, Instructor Trepe?" Quistis nodded, coming to attention. "It's been a while. How have you all been doing?" He smiled, looking around at all the faces. His gaze stopped on Squall. "This exam involves 12 members from Teams A through D... You will be on a real battlefield. Obviously it will be dangerous, life and death, victory and defeat, honour and disgrace... Each of these is a possibility... But there are only the two choices… It's either one or the other. Nine SeeDs will escort you. Should you fail, these members shall succeed where you have not. There's one less worry for you... Obey their commands and finish the mission successfully. Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD… Good luck to you all." The students all saluted and filed out of the hallway, toward the Garage.

"Squall?" Squall turned toward the headmaster. "You know, we've yet to have any gunblade specialists in SeeD… I hope you will join us… Perhaps even Seifer will grace us with his presence one day…" Cid smiled. Squall nodded and turned, walking away.

(Poor boy… I can't imagine what he goes through…) Cid thought, staring after him.

***

The car ride to the Balamb dock went uneventfully, other than Zell whining at Squall, wanting to see his gunblade. The four passengers exited the car after if came to a halt. Seifer and Squall were the first out. Squall stood to the side as Seifer came out after him.

"So, Squall… Guess I'm you're boss…" Seifer grinned widely. Squall stared at the ground, his hair still in his face. Suddenly Squall got a wicked sparkle in his eye and raised his head slowly, level with Seifer's, giving the other boy a good look at his smooth, _unscathed_ face. Seifer's gasp was barely audible, but it gave Squall all the satisfaction he needed. 

(Today isn't such a bad day after all...) he thought, walking toward the boat, almost smiling. Quistis was last to exit the vehicle. She saw Seifer standing next to the car staring after Squall in complete shock. Quistis glanced in Squall's direction, but Squall had already boarded the vessel.

"Almasy! Get a move on!" Quistis shouted at the stationary figure. Seifer pulled himself back to reality and slowly walked toward the boat. After all four people had boarded, the hatch sealed with a soft hiss and the craft started to move. Everyone sat down in the main lounge area of the vessel. Zell was in the back corner with one leg crossed over the other, he was glaring at Seifer who was sitting near the door, the opposite corner from Zell, with his feet propped upon the table in between them. Quistis sat next to Seifer, across from Zell, facing forward, thinking about the test ahead. It wasn't only a test for SeeD candidates; it was a test for her as well, to see if she was really qualified to be an instructor. Squall sat across from Seifer, he was leaning forward, resting his arms on his knees. Seifer couldn't stop staring at him.

(How!? …He?! …But!? …HUH????) Seifer's thoughts were a jumble. They whirled around his head like a fog. That "hallucination" he'd had that morning, thinking he hadn't seen a mark on Squall had suddenly turned out to _not_ be a hallucination.

(But how??? …I felt the blade hit him!!! I saw the blood!!! …There's no way he could've walked away from that _without_ _a scratch_!!!) Seifer stared incredulously at his rival. Squall raised his head a little and peered at Seifer with a sort of gleeful malice in his eyes. Seifer blinked and looked away.

"Hello everyone… Hi Quistis!" Seifer turned his head to see Xu walk into the small lounge. Quistis and Zell stood up.

"Hello Xu… Well, this is Team B…" Quistis gestured at the three boys. Xu smiled, as Squall stood.

"Hello Zell… Squall… *sigh* …How many times has it been now Seifer? Four? Five?" Seifer waved his hand carelessly.

"Oh, I just love this exam…" he answered.

"Hmm… I'm sure…" Xu walked past Squall and Zell to the view screen at the opposite end of the room. "I am going to explain the situation and the mission objective… Please, be seated." Squall, Quistis and Zell sat back down. The screen behind Xu lit up with a map. "Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 12 hours ago… Dollet was attacked by the Galbadian Army about 48 hours ago. 35 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their position in the city. Currently, they have retreated into the mountains and are reorganising. That's their status at the moment. According to our reports, the Galbadian Army is polishing off the Dollet troops in the mountainous area. Our mission is to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We are to eliminate the remaining Galbadian Troops within the city and liberate it A-sap. SeeD members are to intercept any Galbadian forces trying to enter the city from the mountain region."

"What are _we_ going to do?" Seifer asked casually. Xu eyed him menacingly.

"I was getting there, Seifer… SeeD candidates will be eliminating any Galbadian troops found within Dollet city limits…"

"Wow… That sounds pretty important…" Zell said excitedly. Seifer sighed.

"…No, it just sounds stupid… Essentially we're cleaning up after the SeeDs and the Dollet troops… BOR-ing…" Xu glared at Seifer.

"…It doesn't really need to be said, but the order to withdraw takes priority over any other, so don't ignore it…" Xu looked pointedly at Seifer. Seifer rolled his eyes with feigned boredom. "There should be some action as soon as you get off the boat, so be careful, Instructor Trepe has the orders for your particular team, so pay attention… That is all for your preliminary briefing… Good luck." Zell and Squall stood again and let Xu by. Zell bounced back down onto the couch and smiled. Squall sat down slowly.

"Wow… My first real battle… Sheesh… Man, I'm kinda nervous…" Zell said to no one in particular. Seifer scowled at him.

"Don't wet your pants." Zell clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"What did you say?!?" Seifer snickered. "…Bastard!" Quistis shot Zell a warning glance and he slowly unclenched his fists.

"Enough talk! We'll be there soon," Quistis declared, ending the argument. Seifer turned to Squall.

"Yo! Puberty boy… Go check out what's going on outside…" Squall glared at Seifer.

"…No," he answered simply. Seifer swallowed.

"Squall, whether you like it or not, you have to listen to Seifer…" Quistis said, watching the two men. Squall snorted.

"…Fine…" Squall stood up and walked out of the lounge. He exited the room and saw a hallway, a staircase and a door. He knew that the door was the hatch leading outside of the boat, and there was no way he was gonna try to open it while they were in the middle of the ocean. He glanced down the hall and started up the staircase, finding a circular hatch at the top. He opened it up and stepped onto the deck of the small vessel. The sea breeze hit him hard in the face, stinging his eyes. Squall blinked and wiped the salt away. He looked forward as the wind whipped his hair in every direction at once. He saw the city of Dollet in front of him, lit up with explosions. He could even see a few firefights happening on the beach. They were getting very close, Squall decided that he should probably go back down, he didn't want to be up there when the boat landed.

***

Zell ducked as a shell hit the ground a few feet away. Quistis, Seifer, and Squall looked on not even a little phased. Zell sighed with exasperation, why did he have to get stuck with the invincible gunbladesmen? Seifer and Squall were like, invulnerable, everyone knew that the only thing that could kill them would be themselves. So the odds that a stray bullet meant for one of the two immortals, would hit Zell were pretty high. Zell didn't like that thought at all. He turned his attention away from the bombs landing all around him and back to Quistis who was giving out orders.

"You three are to secure the main square! When that is done, you are to remain on standby until further instructions! Go!" Quistis shouted at Team B over the excessive noise around her. Seifer nodded and ran down the beach toward the entrance into Dollet. Squall and Zell ran after him. They reached the staircase and saw Team A waiting at the bottom. Seifer glared at the three members of Team A.

"Wusses!" he shouted running up the stairs. Squall and Zell stopped at the bottom of the stairwell, and shrugged at Team A, then sprinted to the top of the staircase. Seifer was waiting at the entrance for them. "Come on!" he said impatiently, and turned. There were two Galbadian soldiers sliding to a halt in front of him.

"Y-You're Dollet's reinforcements?" The two soldiers glanced at each other. Seifer pulled Hyperion out of its sheath and pointed it at the two Galbadians. Squall drew his gunblade too, and Zell tugged at his gloves, making sure they were all the way on and punched the air a few times. The soldiers laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Two ancient weapons and a pair of gloves?!? …HAAAAAA!" Seifer shrugged and sliced the first soldier across the chest, killing him instantly. The other soldier stopped laughing and took a step back. Squall thrust his gunblade forward and gutted the other soldier. He had only time to look at Squall in surprise before he died.

"Not bad…" Seifer said. He glanced back at Squall and then ran into the city. Squall stared at the man he'd just killed. The soldier just seemed to lie there like he was sleeping. The only thing clueing Squall in that he was actually dead, was the growing puddle of blood underneath the soldier. It wasn't the first person he'd ever killed. No, it wasn't the first, it was, however, the only that he'd ever killed _willingly_.

***

"There might be more…" Seifer ventured, glancing at Squall and Zell as he pulled his gunblade from the body of another Galbadian soldier. "Go check it out…" The two other men nodded and circled the square, checking every shadow. They only found one soldier, and Zell had expertly snapped his neck. They came back around the circle to Seifer, who was thinking. A dog had appeared and was sniffing at Seifer's leg, and nibbling on the edge of his coat. "Get away!" Seifer waved his gunblade, making the dog run away, whimpering. Seifer stared into the distance, listening.

"It's starting…" Squall whispered. Seifer nodded. The three boys paced around the square, bored out of their skulls for at least a half an hour. Seifer stopped and waved his gunblade.

"This is so boring! …Man! I wanna go do something!" As if in answer to his prayers, the dog ran to the other side of the square and howled. Squall turned his head and saw about ten Galbadians heading into the square.

"Shit!" he choked and ducked behind the fountain in the centre of the square. Seifer and Zell did the same. They watched silently as the soldiers cautiously jogged through the square, down another street. After they had all gone, Seifer stood up.

"I wonder where they think they're going?" Seifer said thoughtfully. Zell pointed upward.

"What's that?" Squall and Seifer looked up at the building Zell was pointing at. It looked like a giant satellite.

"Our next stop…" Seifer said, grinning.

"Huh? What are you talking about? …We're supposed to wait here until further orders!" Zell exclaimed. Seifer glowered at Zell.

"Hey, aren't you bored outta your skull too?" Seifer argued. Zell shrugged. Seifer grabbed his shirt and pushed him away. Zell turned angrily, and looked at Squall.

"Are you just gonna go along with him?!" Zell asked, looking at Squall. Squall walked a few steps away and stared at the ground.

"I'm gonna follow the captain's orders…" he answered quietly. Seifer advanced upon Squall and grabbed his shoulder.

"You wanna wreak some havoc, don'tcha?" Squall pulled his shoulder out of Seifer's grip and turned on him.

"It's a good chance to test out training… Anyway, thanks to you… I feel like I could take on the whole Galbadian Army by myself, even if all of them fight dirty like you…" Squall retorted. Seifer turned red.

"Hey! Who gave who a scar here?!?" Seifer growled. Squall got in Seifer's face.

"Yeah? Well, who cast a fire spell when magick was against the rules?!" Zell pushed the two men apart.

"Hey! Break it up you two! …So what are we gonna do?" Squall stared at the ground and folded his arms.

"We're going to follow the enemy to that facility, and sabotage whatever they're doing…" Seifer ordered without taking his eyes from Squall. Zell looked at Squall desperately.

"…Yes… Captain…" Squall stated softly.

***

__

Author's Note: More updating. ^_^ It's kinda nice to go back and re-read through all of this. Anyway, R&R… And enjoy!

-Rhyein


	4. The Communication Tower

Squall and Zell slid to a stop as they reached the base of the cliff. At the top was the facility that Seifer wanted to check out. There were Dollet soldiers littering either side of the road; the Galbadians had cut them up pretty bad. Zell went from soldier to soldier, checking to see if there was anything he could do for any of them. Seifer waited impatiently on the staircase. While Squall leaned against the rocky outcropping, making up the walls of the stairwell, staring off into space.

(I wonder what he thinks about…) Seifer thought blankly, staring at Squall. Zell ran up to them, pulling both out of their thoughts.

"They said that the place up there is a communication tower, and that its crawling with monsters…" Seifer grinned and waved his gunblade.

"All the more fun for us…" They all jumped suddenly at the sound of someone screaming. Seifer ran a little ways up the staircase and shouted for the others. Squall and Zell ran after him and slid to a stop. It was a Dollet soldier; an Anacondaur was attacking him.

"Let's go help him!" Zell shouted running in. Seifer rolled his eyes and chased after him. Squall followed closely behind. Zell stood just outside the Anacondaur's striking rang and bounced helplessly from one foot to the other. Seifer looked from Zell to Squall and back again. "What are we gonna do?!?" Zell asked frantically.

"Do you have a GF?" Zell nodded. Seifer hit him upside the head. "Then use it dolt!" Zell clenched his fist and thought about slugging Seifer, but he decided against it and turned back to the monster. Squall and Seifer just nodded to one another and went in quickly, slicing at the giant snake with their gunblades. Seifer jumped back, watching as Squall got two hits in.

(You gotta admit… He's a fast bastard…) Seifer jumped in again as the monster flailed in pain from Squall's hits. He grabbed the soldier and drug him back to safety just as Zell thrust his hands forward, calling his GF. Seifer felt himself go light and watched Squall, Zell and the soldier all disappear as well. Then the sky became very dark and the clouds started to swirl hazardously. A bolt of lightening hit the ground in front of the Anacondaur and formed into a giant bird… Quezacotl. Quezacotl opened its great wings and raised its head above the snake, creating a large ball of static around the monster. Suddenly a giant explosion of light emanated from where the GF and the Anacondaur had been at, and all was calm again. Seifer, Squall, Zell and the soldier all reappeared slowly and found the great snake lying dead in front of them. Zell ran over to Seifer and the soldier and knelt down.

"Are you alright, man?" The soldier nodded. Seifer snorted as Zell stood up again. "What is your friggin' problem?" Zell asked, annoyed.

"You know… If I remember correctly… That GF is Squallie-boy's, ain't it?" Zell turned red.

"So what if it is?" Seifer just smiled and continued toward the communication tower, dragging Squall and Zell behind him.

***

Selphie Tilmett had been following Team B for quite some time now.

(Why do I always get stuck delivering messages to the team that never follows orders?) she thought exasperatedly. Team B hadn't been in the Central Square, and Selphie only had three other choices as to where they'd gone… Back the way she'd come, through the large pile of cars, or to the Communication Tower. The latter was the most likely, so she went that way. Sure enough, she had picked up their trail. She climb precariously over the rocks in her SeeD candidate uniform, scraping her knees many times along the way. Finally she came to the top of a great pile of stones and saw two boys in SeeD candidate uniforms. She stood up and waved her arms at them.

"Hey!! Wh-whoa!!!" She shouted as she fell down the rock pile toward the boys. She stood up and straightened her uniform, brushing herself off. "Hey! …Wait! Aren't you that guy that showed me around this morning?" she asked Squall excitedly. Squall looked at her kinda funny. "Don't you remember? I ran into you outside of Instructor Trepe's class and you looked at me like I was going to *poof*! Disappear!?" Squall's eyes widened in recognition.

"Hi, well, my name's Selphie Tilmett… From Team A… Thanks for showing me around, I don't get lost so much anymore… Hey! Where's your team captain? His name's Seifer right?" Squall nodded and turned toward the communication tower and pointed as Seifer came into view.

"Someday Leonhart! I'm gonna tell you about my ROMANTIC dream!!" With that, Seifer turned around and ran into the communication tower. Selphie shook her head.

(I don't wanna know…)

"Man, this is so tough…" Selphie took a look at the cliff they were standing on, walked back a few steps and jumped off, landing on the pathway below. Squall stared after her and checked out the drop. He thought for a few seconds and took a few steps back.

"Hey! Squall! You're not actually gonna do that are you?!?" Zell exclaimed.

"Come on guys!!" Squall looked back at Selphie and then at Zell.

"…You gonna let a girl show you up?" Zell thought for a second and walked back with Squall. Squall sprinted forward and jumped, landing perfectly, next to Selphie. Zell took a deep breath and ran forward, and slid to a halt.

(There is no way… I'll break my neck…) Zell ran around the long way, making Selphie and Squall wait for him.

"Why didn't you just jump?" Selphie asked impatiently. "It would've been quicker…"

"Do you think I have a death wish? Unlike Mr. Leonhart here, I'm not immortal…" Squall raised an eyebrow. 

(…Immortal…?)

"Squall made the jump! Anyone would've made it!"

"...I don't know about that. Perhaps anyone _but_ the Chicken-wuss would've make it." Zell stepped back and clenched his fists, Zell's classic sign of anger Squall had figured out.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL MEEEEE!!!?" Selphie looked at Zell thoughtfully. 

"...Hm? Since you're so mad, you must be the Chicken-wuss."

"What the...!!! WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP CALLING...? I AM NOT A CHICKEN!!!"

"Well...If you don't like CHICKEN, how 'bout...a PIG? Or a HAMSTER? Oh, but you do look more like a CHICKEN with that hair anyway."

"Nah… Pig-wuss and Hamster-wuss just don't have the same ring to them," Squall said, his mouth curling a little at the edge. Zell dropped his hands in exasperation.

"Chicken… Pig… Hamster… Whatever... Call me whatever you want!!! I don't give a damn anymore!!!" Squall stared thoughtfully at Zell.

"Don't take it personally, Zell," he said. Zell rolled his eyes.

"Tch... Whatever…"

***

They entered the building quietly after Seifer. They had seen him a few seconds ago, chasing some Galbadians, seemingly enjoying himself immensely. They walked further into the darkness, and found a lift.

"Is that an elevator?" Selphie asked suspiciously. Squall shrugged and stepped cautiously onto the grated object. He found a small switch at the other end of the metal lift.

"I think it'll take us up…" Squall said, unsure. Zell and Selphie followed him onto the small lift and Squall reluctantly flipped the switch, causing them to go up quickly.

"Wee!! This is fun!" Selphie grinned widely, looking over the edge.

"Don't fall off!!" Zell barked at her. Selphie turned around and stuck her tongue out at Zell.

"I won't!"

"Knock it off you two…" Squall looked up and saw the sky a little ways above them. Suddenly, they broke out of the darkness. Squall, Selphie and Zell looked at their surroundings incredulously. The tower began to shake violently. A panel opened due to the shaking and a spanner fell out. Selphie watched the spanner fall through the grating. The distance to the ground was pretty far down. Selphie looked at Zell and swallowed hard. A large, metal cylinder above their heads suddenly began to rise. It bolted up past Squall, taking him by surprise. Squall looked up and watched as the cylinder leaned to the left, opened, and split into three. The three parts spread, and curved, creating a satellite dish. The dish began to glow and a large beam shot out of it into the sky. Squall and Zell turn their attention back to the Galbadian soldier in the red uniform of an officer, who was standing in front of an open panel.

"Yes! Fixed!" He turned around and saw Squall.

"What do you think you're doing?" Squall asked, crossing his arms.

"Same Mister! Whaddaya think you're doing!?" the officer said, pointing at Squall. "Wedge! Take care of these brats!" The officer turns to his left to face Selphie, who pulled out her nunchaku. "Uh…" He turns right and Zell makes a few swats at him. "Um…" The officer turns back to Squall, who pulls his gunblade out of its sheath. "Heh… Uh… I'm all done here, so I'll just be on my way…" Seifer appeared in front of the man, swiping his gunblade at the soldier's hand, knocking his gun out. "Hey!! Are you INSANE?" Seifer just stared at the man.

"Shut up, will ya?" The four SeeD candidates stepped back, ready to attack the Galbadian officer. When out of the blue, another soldier appeared next to the officer.

"Hello Major Biggs! What is the enemy doing here!?"

"Wedge! You idiot! Where the hell you been?? No pay for you this month!" Wedge swore under his breath.

"I know I shoulda stayed home this week!" The two Galbadians ran at the teenagers. Squall and Seifer stepped back, ready to do some cleaving with their gunblades when Biggs and Wedge flew over their heads and landed not so softly behind them. Zell pointed up at what had blown the soldiers off their course.

"What the fuck is that!?" Seifer looked up at the giant, winged beast. He looked around at the other three and turned around, running toward the soldiers.

"You hold it off, I'm gonna interrogate these guys!" Squall turned around.

"You chicken-shit! What do you-"

"Squall!!!!!" He turned around and saw the monster fly forward and claw at Selphie, who screamed. Squall ran back and lodged his gunblade in the arm of the thing. The monster roared in anger and pain. The sound reverberated throughout everyone's ears. It was a terrifying noise. Squall pulled his gunblade back and yelled at Zell.

"Quezacotl!!! Call Quezacotl!!" Zell nodded frantically and closed his eyes. Squall could see his knees were shaking. Squall turned to Selphie. "Are you alright?" Selphie nodded, she was scared, but the monster had missed her tiny frame. 

"Good… Check the monster out… does it have anything you can draw? Okay, I'm gonna go over there…" Squall stared into Selphie's eyes. She nodded, numbly and raised her eyes to the horrible monster in front of her. Squall ran to the other side of the beast and waved his arms. "Hey!!! Hey!! You!! Yeah! You! The ugly flying thing!! Over here!" The monster turned, looking at Squall. Squall raised his gunblade where the monster could see it. It roared in recognition of the object that had caused it pain. Squall ducked as its giant claws flew quickly at him. He glanced at Zell, who was deep in concentration.

"I found something!! I think it's a GF!!" Selphie shouted excitedly. Squall rolled out of the way as the monster tried to impale him upon its giant stinger.

"Then draw it dammit!!!!" Squall yelled back at her. Squall raised his gunblade above his head and jumped at the creature, pulling the eight-pound trigger as he made contact with it's flesh. Selphie nodded nervously.

(Duh! Why didn't I think of that!) She held her nunchaku out in front of her body and closed her eyes.

"DRAW! SIREN!" Pale blue light flew out of the flying beast and into Selphie. She fell to her knees and stared in horror as the creature picked up Squall and threw him into the satellite. He slid down the side, looking a little dazed. She cleared her mind and took a deep breath. Squall had let her junction his GF, Ifrit before they had entered the communication tower.

Squall sat up slowly and shook his head. He remembered what the creature was called now… An Elvoret. They were a bitch to beat. Squall rolled, trying to get out of the way of the Elvoret's claws. Pain shot through his leg, and suddenly he felt himself become light. He turned over and watched as his feet, knees and waist all disappeared. Squall looked over at Zell and saw Selphie disappear as well. (It's about damn time…) Zell threw his hand toward the Elvoret, and disappeared. Quezacotl struck down from the sky, shooting ten thousand volts of electricity through the body of the winged animal. The three slowly started to reappear as Quezacotl disappeared. Then they disappeared again. (Huh?) Squall looked around, who could be summoning another GF? A giant spout of fire suddenly appeared and a giant beast with flaming hair landed in front of the Elvoret. It was Ifrit. He roared savagely and a huge ball of fire shot out of the ground underneath the elemental. Ifrit rode the giant fireball into the air and jumped off of it, hitting it ferociously with all his strength. The fireball fell on the Elvoret, exploding. Squall shielded his eyes as they reappeared. When he brought his arm back down, the Elvoret was dead.

Selphie ran over to Squall and knelt beside him worriedly, looking at his leg.

"Are you alright?" Squall hissed through clenched teeth as Zell helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, it's just a little painful…" Squall tenderly put his full weight on his leg, gritting his teeth, but took the pain. Selphie stood up and looked doubtfully at the bloody tear in Squall's pant leg. She turned and saw Seifer smacking Wedge around. She jumped over a hole in the grating and saluted Seifer as he dropped the Galbadian disgustedly.

"Team B captain? Seifer Almasy?" Seifer waved a bored gesture for her to continue. "I have new orders for you, sir… All SeeD candidates are to withdraw by 19:30 hours!"

"An order to withdraw comes before everything else…" Zell said.

"I know chicken-wuss! What time did you say?" Seifer said, glancing at his watch. Selphie sighed.

"Like I said, 19:30 hours…"

"Shit! That's in a half an hour! I'm outta here! You guys better run if ya wanna make it!" Seifer ran to the lift and went down, not waiting for anyone.

"Who the hell does he think he is!?" Zell said angrily.

"You should ask him someday…" Squall answered shrugging.

"Will you be able to run?" Selphie asked Squall, glancing at his leg.

"Sure…" His leg had stopped hurting while they had been talking to Seifer. Selphie eyed him curiously but said nothing. "Let's get outta here…" The three teens stepped onto the lift that had just come back from depositing Seifer on the ground floor, and descended into the darkness of the communication tower.

***

Quistis Trepe stood on the deck of the SeeD vessel and glanced at her watch, 19:28.

(Where the hell are they? Seifer arrived here ten minutes ago, which will get him quite a few deducted points for leaving his team…) Quistis sighed and tapped her foot impatiently, and turned around. The boat was going to take off at 19:30 whether everyone was aboard or not. Quistis turned her head abruptly toward the beach. She had heard something very loud, and very large coming this way. She looked and saw Zell and a girl that was from Team A run down the staircase leading out of Dollet. They were halfway down the beach already when she saw Squall. He had barely passed the archway when a Galbadian X-ATM092 crashed through after him. Squall fell over the edge of the roadway and landed on his back in the sand. The girl turned and looked at Squall as Zell ran aboard the vessel. Squall stood back up and ran down the beach toward the boat. The girl had made it aboard. Quistis readied the on-board machine gun quickly. She could see the fear in Squall's eyes, and that threw her for just a second. The boat was starting to pull away from shore and Squall jumped toward the still open hatch. Quistis opened fire. The X-ATM092 shook violently with each bullet that Quistis shot at it. Finally, the hatch closed, Squall was on-board. X-ATM092 fell in the sand, and exploded as the small boat sped away. Quistis took a step back and sighed. She suddenly felt exhausted.

(I think this calls for a nap before the dance this evening…) She opened the hatch and climbed down the stairs. When she got to the bottom she could hear a loud argument happening in the next room. Quistis slowly opened the door to the lounge and saw everyone, except Squall, yelling at Seifer.

"You ass! First you leave us to the Elvoret, then you run off to the boat! You left your team and you're the bloody team captain!!!" Zell shouted at Seifer, becoming red-faced. Seifer took a step toward Zell.

"Oh yeah, chicken-wuss?!? Well-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Quistis barked. Seifer and Zell backed away from one another, but they kept staring at each other menacingly. Quistis knew that it was definitely not over for them. She turned to the girl from Team A. "Who are you??" The girl took a step forward and saluted.

"Selphie Tilmett, messenger from Team A!" Quistis nodded.

"Alright. Welcome aboard. Sit down all of you…" Seifer and Zell sat down opposite of one another and crossed their arms. Zell stared at the floor and Seifer stared at the couch. Selphie sat next to Zell, and Squall sat next to Seifer. Quistis took a deep breath and glanced around the room. Her gaze stopped on Squall's torn and bloody uniform. "What happened Squall? Are you hurt?" Squall glanced at his pant leg.

"…I'm fine…" Quistis glanced around the room at the doubtful looks coming from Zell and Selphie.

"Squall, if you're hurt, you should get it looked at…" Squall raised his stormy eyes to Quistis's.

"…I'm…_fine_…" he said again, enunciating the words a little more clearly. Quistis raised an eyebrow, appearing doubtful, but kept quiet.

***

Squall walked into the main hall of Balamb Garden, after having walked all the way back from the town of Balamb with Zell and Selphie.

(Seifer is such an ass…) Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin, having run off with the last car had forced Squall and company to walk back, but not before they visited Mrs. Dincht. Squall shook his head.

(…If Zell was my kid… I'd put him up for adoption…) he thought, walking toward the directory. Standing there was Xu, Quistis and Headmaster Cid.

"Mission complete! I think everyone did a pretty good job," Xu commented. Squall stood off to the side, waiting.

"All of the candidates are back safely, correct Quistis?" Cid asked worriedly. Quistis nodded, smiling. Cid was such a wonderful headmaster. He really cared about all the students. "I can't believe that the Galbadian army did all of that, just to get to the abandoned communication tower… Anyway, we've received word from the Dollet Dukedom Parliament… The Galbadian Army has agreed to withdraw as long as the uplink at the communication tower remains operational." Xu sighed.

"Well, in any case, Galbadia is out of Dollet. We could've made more money if they'd stayed and caused more damage though..." Quistis remarked. She looked up and saw Squall standing silently to the side. "Hey Squall! Good work!" Squall shrugged.

"Yeah, you did pretty well," Xu added. Cid watched the young sorcerer carefully. He noticed the tear in Squall's pant leg and the blood on his uniform.

"I hope you weren't hurt…" Cid started, gesturing to the blood. Squall glanced at his leg and looked at Cid.

"…No more than a bruised pride sir…" Squall answered quietly. Cid nodded.

"So… How did it feel?" The headmaster was rather interested to hear Squall's answer to this question. Squall stared through him passively and shrugged.

"…Whatever…" Cid shuddered a little at the power of Squall's eyes. His stare alone could make a person go insane. Cid thought silently about Squall's answer for a second.

"…Whatever… I like that! …Whatever… I'm gonna have to remember that!" Cid grinned. Squall just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, sir! Don't encourage him please!" Quistis groaned. Squall turned to leave. "Hey! Squall… The results of the exam will be announced pretty soon, so don't go too far!" Squall nodded and headed toward the training centre. He walked slowly, thinking.

(Why did Cid ask that? Is he trying to tell me something? …Whatever…) Squall looked up and saw Seifer standing alone, outside of the library.

"Where are your two little lap dogs?" Seifer said venomously. Squall just looked at him passively.

"What do you want Seifer?"

"Did you hear about the communication tower? We would've been heroes if it weren't for that frickin' withdraw order..."

"You were only looking for a fight," said a voice behind Squall. He turned to see Instructor Trepe and Xu. Seifer glared at her.

"My dear, lovely instructor... I'm hurt," Seifer said feigning distress. "Those are cruel words for an aspiring SeeD... Bah! An average instructor like you would never understand..." 

"Seifer, don't be so mightier-than-thou. You have to take all responsibility for leaving the central square… You were ordered to stay there and you didn't." Xu said angrily.

"It's the captain's duty to take the best possible action, isn't it? You would have done the same…" He said smirking.

"Seifer… You will never be a SeeD! Calling yourself a captain is just a joke!" Xu snapped at him. Headmaster Cid approached Xu from behind and tapped her upon the shoulder. She turned and quickly saluted. Quistis also saluted.

"Xu… I think that is enough…" Xu nodded and left. Quistis bowed to the Headmaster and followed her. Cid turned to Seifer and Squall. "Seifer, I'm afraid you will be have to be disciplined for your irresponsible behaviour. You must follow orders exactly during combat of this sort. You are not a SeeD yet, and those under you were not SeeD, what if one of them had gotten hurt, or worse- _killed_… because of your recklessness?" Cid sighed. "I'm not entirely without sympathy for you, however... I don't wish for you all to become machines, doing only what you are told, when you are told. I want you all to be able to think and act for yourselves…" A Garden Faculty member approached Cid. "Yes?" Cid said, irritated by the interruption.

"Headmaster Cid, there is some business in your office..."Cid shook his head.

"There is so much to do here…" Cid turned and walked away. Squall looked at Seifer sympathetically. He had egged Seifer into going to the communication tower, Seifer would never admit that to anyone though. He'd take all the blame, like a good commander and serve out his sentence. Squall respected Seifer for that. His sense of responsibility was almost… chivalrous.

"All SeeD candidates who participated in the Field Exam today, please report to the second floor hallway." Squall heard echo through the hallway. Squall looked at Seifer again, who had not moved since Headmaster Cid had left. Squall sighed and turned back toward the elevator.

***

The second floor hallway was crowded with students. Everyone wanted to see who the new SeeDs were going to be. Squall made his way through the small crowd to the wall. He leaned against it and noticed Zell pacing nearby. Zell looked up and nodded at Squall.

(Now, _he's_ nervous… I guess I'm kinda nervous too…) Squall looked up and was surprised to see Fujin and Raijin coming toward him.

"RAGE!" Fujin declared in her usual tone.

"Yeah man, Fujin's just sayin' how it's gonna be all your fault if Seifer doesn't make the cut for SeeD, ya know?" Squall shrugged. Just then, a member of the Garden Faculty walked into the hallway. Silence descended quickly as he pulled a short list out of his pocket. The whole hall seemed to hold their breath as he spoke.

"Dincht… Zell Dincht!" Zell stopped pacing and stared in disbelief at the Garden Faculty member.

"…YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!" Zell jumped into the air. "See ya suckers!" Zell said, saluting to Fujin and Raijin, and running out of the hall.

(He's gonna be sorry for that if Fujin or Raijin make the cut… Hell… He'll be sorry for it anyway…) Squall thought, glancing at Fujin.

"Geeson… Nida Geeson!" A guy Squall didn't know smiled with relief and walked forward.

"Leonhart, Squall…" Squall pushed himself off of the wall and walked past the Garden Faculty member. He saw Zell and Nida ahead of him smiling and talking excitedly to one another. Behind him, he heard another name called.

"Tilmett! Selphie Tilmett!"

"WHOO HOO!!" Selphie skipped ecstatically past Squall. "WE MADE IT!!!!" She squealed gleefully and ran to the elevator. The four students waited by the elevator for the Garden Faculty member. He walked calmly to the elevator and then allowed them to enter. The elevator ride up took forever. Selphie, Zell and Nida would not stop chattering. Squall just leaned against the back of the crowded lift, and crossed his arms. The door opened and everyone filed out. They walked, single-file, into Cid's office. The Garden Faculty member walked to Cid's desk and turned. Headmaster Cid was standing in front of his desk, smiling broadly. The four students lined up quietly, Selphie on the far left, then Nida, Zell and finally Squall.

"These are the students who passed the exam today, Headmaster…" Cid nodded and opened his mouth for a speech.

"Congratulations! …Now, as a members of SeeD, you will be routed to places all over the world. We are proud to add you to SeeD, Balamb Garden's mercenary force. SeeDs are combat specialists. ...That, however, is only a small piece of the giant picture of SeeD. When the time arrives..." Cid stopped, he was staring at Squall.

"Headmaster...It's almost time for that 'meeting'… SeeD is a valuable asset to Garden. Its reputation is dependent on each one of you. Handle your missions with extreme care. Is that what you wanted to say, Headmaster?" Cid tore his gaze away from Squall. He couldn't bear to say it in front of the boy. He brought his eyes back to the group and forced a smile.

"Here are your SeeD rank reports…" Cid walked to Selphie and handed her a piece of paper and whispered something in her ear, causing her to giggle. Cid smiled at her and continued on to Nida. He handed Nida another piece of paper and whispered in his ear. Nida nodded, and smiled to himself. Zell was next. As he handed Zell his piece of paper, Squall heard him whisper, "Try to control your emotions a little better…" in Zell's ear. Zell nodded solemnly as he accepted the paper. Cid finally stopped in front of Squall. He just stared at Squall for a moment, and then handed him the last piece of paper. As Squall's gloved hand accepted it, Cid leaned up and whispered, "…Good luck, m'boy…" Squall glanced into Cid's soft, fatherly eyes and felt his heart jump. He was a SeeD.

***

__

Author's Note: Updating is fun. ^_^ Lalalala… Okay, disclaimer, I don't own any of these characters…Except Squall! *points to a piece of paper on her dorm room wall* SEE? I HAVE HIS DEED DAMMIT! HE'S MINE! ^_~

-Rhyein


	5. Lily

Squall walked into the Garden Quad with a look on his face that could only be described as relief. The Quad was peaceful, as most of the students were resting up after a long, arduous day. On the opposite side of the Quad, Squall could see the stage being set up for the Garden Festival Committee. He watched the committee members run around barking orders as he leaned against a tree. He could see a few people he recognised from class, but one person stood out. It was the small figure of Selphie Tilmett, the girl that had fallen, literally, into his life that morning. Most people that Squall ran into in the hall, he would just glance at and forget about. He had a suspicious feeling that Selphie wasn't going to let him forget about her, whether he liked it or not.

Squall pulled his weight back off the tree and looked at it. It was the tree that he always sat near when he was in the Quad. He remembered when it had first been planted in the Garden, four years ago. It had been almost full-grown when it had replaced the tree that used to stand in that spot. Squall shook his head, he didn't want to remember that day, but no matter how he tried, the consequences had impacted his life so greatly, that the result was still placed firmly on his hands. Squall sat down, putting his back against the great tree's trunk, staring off into space. He sat and thought about the soldiers he had killed that day. About their lives, the families that they must have had, their friends, and their homes. He turned his head and glanced at the odd patch of mulch next to him. Squall sighed and pushed the mulch aside to reveal a small, bronze plaque.

****

In Loving Memory of Lily Brooks

Squall stared silently at the plaque. Lily Brooks had been his best friend -his _only_ friend- from the time he was about six until Lily had died when he was thirteen. She had been kind of like his first kiss and his first love, sorta. It hadn't been anything passionate, just a little peck on the lips, like eight-year-olds normally would do, but it had been something very special for him. They had met in the infirmary on the second day of school, Lily had had an unfortunate accident with an escaped Grat and Squall was sick again. They had spent the next week in beds next to each other, talking. That's how Lily had found out what Squall was. She knew about his sorcerer abilities, and she had not cared, that, unfortunately, had been her downfall.

Squall remembered the last day he'd seen her very clearly. He had been pulled from class for a few months due to puberty kicking in and making his powers go haywire. Headmaster Cid and a few of the other Instructors knew about Squall's power and had thought it best if he stayed away from the other children for a while. So, they had announced that Squall had the measles and was to be left alone, as he was highly contagious. Lily had come to see Squall anyway, she knew that he didn't have the measles, Squall hadn't been sick since the day they'd met. Lily had come to his room, skipping her classes for the day, and talked him into going to the Quad with her. Squall had found it hard to resist the twelve-year-old redhead that he loved so. They had gone to the Quad and were sitting in their favourite tree, talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Lily wanted to be a SeeD, to travel the world, and to never grow old. She had laughed at Squall's dream; he didn't really want to be a SeeD. He just wanted to finish school at the Garden, spend maybe a year or two in SeeD and then leave to start a family. Squall wanted to be a dad when he grew up, to live in Balamb maybe, to have a normal job, and the normal life that he had never had before. They had been in the tree for a few hours when Lily decided that it was probably time to go. Lily had gotten about two-thirds of the way down the tree when her hand slipped and she fell out, landing awkwardly on her leg…

__

"Lily! Lily! Are you alRI… *cough* …alright?!?" he asked frantically, his voice cracking, as he jumped out of the tree after her.

"Yeah… My leg hurts though…" Squall looked over her leg, it was bent at a weird angle and was starting to swell.

"…I think it's broken… Come on, we gotta take you to Dr. Kadowaki… I'll help you." Lily's eyes widened in fear at the thought.

"No Squall! I'll get in such trouble for skipping class!! And even more if you_ bring me! No one is supposed to go near you, remember? Oh, we'll get separated, and they'll never let us see each other again!!" Lily begged him desperately. Squall couldn't stand the thought of never seeing Lily again, so he conceded._

"What then? What cAn… *cough* …What can we do?" he asked, his voice cracking again. Lily giggled at the squeak that Squall had made. He sighed at her and raised an eyebrow.

"…I'm sorry… It's just so cute when you do that…" She giggled again, and grimaced at the pain. "…Well… YOU could always cast a cure spell, I know YOU can fix it…" Lily said, batting her eyes at him. Squall glanced at her suspiciously.

"…Lily… I can't do that. You know how dangerous it is! Especially now! Whenever my voICe… *cough* …my voice cracks… Lily… Something bad might happen…" Lily put her hand on her leg and pulled it around slowly, clenching her teeth, and closing her eyes tightly. Squall could tell she was in a lot of pain.

"Fine Squall. Just take me to Dr. Kadowaki, and get me in trouble, and then we'll never see each other again… ever," Lily said, putting a passive look on her face, as if she didn't care if she never saw Squall again.

"No! Lily! I don't want that to hAPpen… *cough* …happen!" Squall looked at Lily forlornly. "…Okay… I'll do it…" Lily squealed with glee and threw her arms around Squall's neck, kissing his cheek. Squall pulled her arms from around his neck and blushed. He sat down next to Lily's broken leg and carefully put his hand on the part that was swelling. Lily held her breath and watched, she had never seen Squall do magick before. Squall closed his eyes and concentrated on her leg. Lily's leg and Squall's hand started to glow a light blue colour. Squall suddenly opened his eyes.

"…cURe!… *cough*" Squall's voice cracked again as he said the word, and instead of the blue sparkle of a cure spell, Lily suddenly gasped and passed out. Squall jumped forward. "LILY!!!" He touched her face. Her eyes were open and staring out into space. Her skin was cold under Squall's hand. Squall stood up and backed away from Lily's body… She was dead. Squall's eyes grew wide as he realised what had happened. He backed into the tree that they had just been climbing and turned. He watched in horror as the bark under his fingertips turned grey and brittle. Squall looked up at the branches of the tree and saw the leaves turn brown and start to fall. He took his hand off the tree and stared numbly at the ground. Behind him, he heard a voice…

"Squall?" Squall looked up from his memories and saw Selphie standing there. "Hi… Are you alright?" Squall blinked, and stared passively at Selphie. She looked very concerned. "I saw you sitting over here all by yourself and came to say 'hi,' but you didn't answer me the first five times I said it…" she said, smiling. Squall looked away.

"…Whatever…" Selphie giggled and sat down next to him. She glanced at the plaque on the other side of Squall.

"Who's Lily Brooks?" Squall stood up and started to walk out of the Quad. Selphie stood up too. "Hey! I just thought that… you looked like you needed someone to talk to…" She said after him. Squall stopped and turned.

"…Just… Leave me alone Selphie… I know you… mean well, but I… I prefer to be left alone…" He turned again, slowly, and walked away.

***

Squall heard a knock on his door. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the new uniform he had found there, his SeeD uniform. The knock came again. Squall sighed and stood up, walking past the SeeD candidate jacket on the floor, to the door. He opened it and was surprised to see Selphie standing there, already in her new uniform. Selphie grinned widely at Squall.

"Hiya!" Selphie walked past him into the room. Squall stared after her, dumbfounded. "…What?!" she exclaimed, turning to look at him. "You're not even in your uniform!!" She put her hand on her hip and glared at Squall's dirty T-shirt, his torn, bloody, and blue SeeD candidate pants, and his still-gloved hands. "Go put on your SeeD uniform this instant! There's a party tonight, and I have been given the responsibility of making sure you go!" Selphie pouted at him. Squall just stared at her. "…What? …Oh! How do I look?" She said, turning in a circle and giggling.

"…Given the responsibility by whom?" Selphie blushed.

"…Um… Well, it wasn't really _given_ to me… Um… by anyone… I just thought… Heh…" Selphie scratched her head and stared at the floor, bashfully. "…That after seeing you… Well, so _down_… this afternoon… You kinda _needed_ to go…" Squall rolled his eyes. "Oh Squall! Please come!!! Please, please, please, please, please?? I just saw you today, and knew that we had to be friends!!! So, please come to the dance!! It'll take your mind off of whatever you're upset about!!" Squall looked uncertainly at her.

(…Friends?) He had to admit that Selphie seemed familiar to him, like they knew each other from somewhere, but he didn't really want to go to the dance. He shrugged.

"…I don't really want to go…" Selphie pouted.

"Okay, then… I guess I'll see you around then…" She started to walk dejectedly out of the room. Squall sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Selphie… Don't be like that… Okay… I'll go…" Selphie turned around and jumped up and down with glee.

"Whoo hoo!! You won't be sorry, I promise!" she squealed happily. Squall walked into the next room to change into his SeeD uniform, and closed the door behind him.

(…I'm sorry already…)

***

Squall watched the dancers swirl by him as he nursed the glass of champagne in his hand. He had seen Quistis dancing, Selphie was running around from person to person asking everyone if they wanted to help out with the Garden Festival, and Zell was off somewhere. Squall had seen him earlier, Zell had approached him and tried to start a conversation, but Squall was determined to be a wallflower, so Zell had left, finding other, more talkative company. Squall had even caught a glimpse of Seifer that evening, actually dressed up nicely. Squall had wondered how Seifer had made it into the dance, when he was supposedly being punished. A girl walked by Squall and offered to take his empty glass. Squall set it back on the tray and dropped his hand to his side. She asked if he wanted more champagne, but he shook his head. She walked away, as Squall turned his attention to the glass ceiling of the ballroom. He was bored. It was a clear night, he stared at the bright stars glimmering over everyone's heads, and caught a glimpse of a bright shaft of light, streaking across the sky, a shooting star. Squall's eyes followed the shooting star across the sky until it had disappeared, just as quickly as it had appeared. He brought his gaze back down and noticed a girl looking up through the glass ceiling as well. She was standing alone. The girl had dark brown hair, with gold streaks mixed in. She had on a short white dress. Squall breathed in sharply as she brought her eyes away from the ceiling and looked straight at him. She had brown eyes. The girl smiled at him and pointed at the shooting star. Squall blinked.

(…Is she… saying something to… me?) She turned and walked toward him. Squall straightened as she stopped in front of him, his heart was in his throat.

"Hello." Squall swallowed nervously and just stared at her. "…You know, you are definitely the best-looking guy here… Do you want to dance?" She smiled at him. Squall looked at the floor, he had no clue as to what to say. The girl sighed, "Lemme guess… You'll only dance with 'someone you like'? Am I right? …Hmm…" She pursed her lips and stared at him.

"Okay, how about this?" She raised her hand to his face, Squall flinched reflexively backward, his head hitting the wall behind. "You-going-to-like-me, you-going-to-like-me…" she chanted, wiggling her fingers at him. "Did it work?" she asked him, dropping her hand. Squall smirked a little and shrugged.

"I can't dance…" She seemed to be expecting this answer and grabbed his gloved hand, to his surprised and horror, and started to pull him toward the dance floor.

"Oh, that's okay… I'm trying to find someone, and I don't want to be on the dance floor alone…" she answered, dragging him into the crowd of dancers.

***

Quistis Trepe watched the dancing from a distance. She had been enjoying herself for a little while, but then Headmaster Cid had gotten a hold of her and given her some very mind-numbing news. She had gone back to her room and changed clothes, wondering what was going to become of her. Then she found herself returning to the ballroom, she wanted a friend to talk to. Quistis had searched the room, looking for someone to talk to. Xu was dancing, Headmaster Cid was talking with some Instructors, and then she saw Squall. A handsome vision in his new SeeD uniform, Squall looked uncomfortable and out of place. Quistis knew that he wasn't very social and talkative, but maybe he'd listen to her. She started to walk toward him, but stopped abruptly. Another girl had approached him and was speaking to him. Quistis had never seen the girl before, she wasn't a SeeD.

The girl talked to Squall for a minute and then dragged him on the dance floor. Quistis almost laughed out loud. It would be amusing to see the oh-so-obviously-scared Squall, try to dance. Quistis found a good view of the dance floor and leaned against a nearby pillar, watching amusedly as Squall stepped all over the feet of the girl. Quistis was surprised by the fact that the girl didn't give up, she just took Squall's right arm and put it around her waist, and took his gloved, left hand in hers and tried again. Squall stepped on her a second time and instead of the girl giving up, Squall did. Quistis watched him shake his head and turn to go, he even got a few steps away, but the girl was persistent. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back, trying once more. Quistis giggled and watched Squall try desperately to keep up, with no avail. Finally, the two ran into another dancing couple. The couple looked angry for a second, but soon their faces went from angry to nervous. Quistis wondered why for a second and realised that the couple had realised that the person who had run into them was "The Lion."

She smiled and continued watching. Squall looked apologetically at the couple and the girl just stood in front of him, waiting. Quistis watched Squall turn to the girl, and the girl smile. Squall stared at her for a second and then started to dance with her, perfectly. Every move was correct, every step was in time with the beat of the song… Squall could dance. Suddenly, fireworks exploded in the sky above everyone. Quistis looked up, watching the red, green, and blue lights explode and then fade into darkness. She brought her attention back to Squall and the girl, but the girl had disappeared. Squall was standing on the dance floor staring off to his left, looking rather overwhelmed. He stood there for a second and then slowly left the dance floor, making his way outside, onto the balcony. Quistis walked quickly after him. He was staring in the distance at the sea. Quistis came up quietly behind him.

"…You really are amazing… Even that dance was perfect…" she said quietly. Squall turned his head a little.

"…Thanks…" he answered, turning his head back toward the sea. Quistis remained silent, not knowing what to say next. Squall sighed, irritated. "…Yes?" Quistis straightened.

"What? You can dance with a girl you've never seen before, but you can't talk to me?" Squall snorted.

"…Whatever…" He turned to her. "You're my instructor, and I'm your student, it's kind of awkward when you just stand there staring at me…" Quistis chuckled.

"Getting a taste of your own medicine Squall?" she inquired sarcastically. Squall turned away.

"If you're just out here to irritate me, it's worked… Will you go away now?" Quistis stopped laughing and looked at Squall, visibly hurt. She thought for a second and pulled herself together.

"…I've come to give you my final order." Squall turned, puzzled. "You and I are to go to the 'secret area' in the training centre." Squall put his hand on his hip, imitating his usual stance of annoyance.

"If we're going in there to tell everyone they're breaking curfew, forget it… That's the disciplinary committee's job…" Quistis chuckled again.

"…No, nothing like that… Just go get changed and meet me inside the training centre, alright?" Squall sighed.

"…Whatever…" He turned and walked off of the balcony. Quistis watched him leave before going to the training centre to wait for him.

(…He's always going to think of me as an Instructor isn't he? …If only he knew…)

***

Squall walked slowly into the training centre. Waiting just inside the door was Quistis. Squall stopped in front of her and waited, she'd been the one to ask him here anyway. Quistis looked at Squall and smiled. He was back in his normal clothing, she inspected him, leaving her eyes on his hands.

"Not even this once?" she said gesturing toward the gloves. Squall just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

(Whatever…) Quistis sighed and turned toward the main entrance into the training centre. "Well, here we go… Squall? Have you ever fought a T-Rexaur?" She said abruptly. Squall shrugged.

"…Sure… Lots of times…" Quistis raised her eyebrow suspiciously, looking at Squall in disbelief. Squall just started walking toward the entrance, who cared if she believed him or not. Quistis followed closely behind him as they entered the training centre. It had live monsters running around, and wasn't someplace you wanted to be alone in. The "secret area" was a small, secluded spot in the middle of the training centre. It was fenced off and well protected from the monsters running around. The hazardous part was just getting to it.

Squall and Quistis made it to the secret area, fighting only one Grat that had snuck up behind them along the way. Quistis walked slowly to the barrier wall, and leaned against it. Squall glanced around the secluded spot at the two couples already there and suddenly wondered why Quistis had brought him there.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Quistis sighed, staring out over the silent jungle of the training centre. Squall came up next to her and leaned on the barrier as well.

(…Whatever…) Quistis sighed again. "What time is it?" Squall glanced up at the moon.

"…Sometime after midnight…" Quistis shook her head.

"…Oh… Well, as of this moment in time, I, Quistis Trepe, am no longer a Balamb Garden Instructor…" Squall glanced at her, but remained silent. "I'm just a regular SeeD member now… Who knows? Maybe we'll even end up working together someday…" She shrugged and leaned forward.

"…Okay…" Squall said uncertainly, (Was this what she dragged me out here for? …To tell me this? …Why?).

"Is that all you're gonna say?" Squall shrugged.

"What else can I say? …If that was what was decided, then that's it, I can't do much about it…" Quistis stared at the jungle quietly.

"…They told me that I wasn't a good instructor, more specifically, that I lack leadership abilities…" Quistis laughed bitterly, "Me… Who was a SeeD at the age of fifteen and an instructor by seventeen… It's only been a year… Where did I go wrong? I tried hard… I did my best… Squall, are you even listening to me?" Squall had turned away from Quistis and was facing the opposite direction.

(She just wants to rant at me about her problems… What am I supposed to do about them? I have enough of my own…) Squall turned again, facing the door. He leaned back, rested his elbows on the barrier, and sighed impatiently.

"…What am I supposed to say? …These aren't my problems, they're yours, why are you telling them to me?" Quistis turned to Squall desperately.

"You don't have to say anything! I… I just want you to listen… I want someone to talk to, someone to listen to me…"

"If you want someone to listen… go talk to a wall." Squall stood up and walked toward the exit. Quistis turned angrily.

"I _was_ talking to a wall, Squall Leonhart!" Quistis turned back to the jungle, offended. Squall stopped and turned. "…Aren't there times when you just want someone to talk to… to share your feelings with?"

"…Everyone has to take care of themselves. I don't need anyone else's feelings pulling me down…" he answered sharply. He waited a second for her to respond, then left. Quistis pushed back the tears savagely and looked back in the direction Squall had left.

(…A failed instructor… I can't even get through to him, how could I expect to teach anyone else?) She turned around slowly and walked after him. Quistis exited the secret area and found Squall leaning against the wall outside.

"I thought you had left…" she snapped. Squall shrugged.

"You wanna go through here by yourself? …Fine by me…" He turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Quistis ran up to him. "…I'm sorry…" Squall shrugged.

(Why is she saying sorry?) "…I shouldn't have dragged you out here… I should have known that you wouldn't understand…" Quistis gazed into Squall's eyes, feeling anger, self-pity, and stupid for thinking that Squall of all people would listen. She stared into his eyes, and he stared back, the expression on his face showing boredom.

(…The colour of the sky after a storm…) Quistis stepped toward Squall, not really paying attention to what she was doing. She raised her hand and ran her fingers lightly through his hair. Squall jerked slightly in surprise and stared at Quistis in extreme confusion.

(…What the!?) he thought, his eyes growing wide. Quistis kept stroking his hair, staring absently into his eyes, and then turned her chin up and kissed him. It was a tender kiss on his lips. Squall pulled away frantically and turned… She had touched him, no, she had not only touched him, her skin had come in contact with his skin and nothing had happened to her. Quistis, realising that she had just done only what she had dreamed of, took a step toward him.

"…Squall? I-I didn't mean-" Squall turned abruptly looking Quistis right in the eyes.

"Don't ever, _ever_, touch me again…" he said menacingly to her, his eyes full of fear and anger. He faltered backward a few steps and turned again.

(…She…she kissed me… But, she's an instructor! …Not anymore… Shit, what if something happens to her! …Dammit, I'll get kicked out of this school for good -or worse- hunted down for what I am and killed… What the fuck was she thinking!!) He closed his eyes.

"…I'm sorry Squall…" he heard Quistis whisper behind him. "…I-I don't know what came over me… I-" she was interrupted by a loud scream, coming from the direction of the training centre entrance. Squall raised his head and turned toward the sound.

"Somebody!! …Anybody!! Help me!!" the voice shouted. Quistis looked at Squall and watched him step toward the sound.

"…We can't just stand here! Let's go help," Quistis urged, happy for the diversion.

***

The girl screamed again. Squall and Quistis ran toward the scream and saw that a monster was attacking the girl. She was curled in a ball on the ground with her arms above her head, trying desperately to fend off the Granaldo. She peeked through her arms and saw Squall.

"Squall!!" Quistis entered her view a second later. "Squall!! Quistis?! Help me!!" Squall stared at the girl as Quistis tried to figure out a way to distract the Granaldo. She seemed so familiar, she had a white skirt and a blue shirt on. Wrapped tightly around her frame was a green shawl. Squall had seen her before. Suddenly a fireball hit the Granaldo from behind. Squall turned and saw Quistis drop her hands and pull out her whip as the Granaldo's attention was diverted. Squall drew his gunblade, but he couldn't take his eyes off the girl.

(…Elle?) The name popped into his head as he realised who she was.

(She's… she's Ellone…) Quistis jumped forward and hit the Granaldo with her whip.

(…Sis…?) The Granaldo flew out of Quistis's reach and turned back to the girl, who hadn't been as dangerous as these two new creatures turned out to be. Ellone screamed again, her voice blending with that of another. Quistis looked sharply at Squall.

"NO!" he shouted, thrusting his hand out in front of himself. Lightning shot through his arm, hitting the monster cruelly. It was like no other Thunder spell Quistis had ever seen before in her life. The Lightning surrounded the Granaldo, getting brighter and brighter. Quistis had to cover her eyes with her arm. She brought her hand back down when she heard a large explosion. The Granaldo had disintegrated. Squall ran forward to the girl as Quistis stared at him incredulously. 

"…Ellone?" he whispered, kneeling in front of her. The girl raised her head and looked into Squall's eyes.

"…Squall…" she whispered back, smiling. Out of no where, two men ran into the Training Centre, pushed their way past Quistis and stopped. They both wore white uniforms and headbands.

(They look like guards…) Quistis thought. Ellone raised her hand to touch Squall's face, but Squall moved his head at the last second, staring at the ground. Ellone dropped her hand slowly as the two men came forward.

"What are you doing in here! It isn't safe…" the first one said. Ellone stood up slowly, and looked down at Squall.

"…Alright…" The two men bowed to Quistis and started to walk away. Ellone lagged behind, staring at Squall. "…Goodbye Squall…" she said softly as she walked away.

***

__

Author's Note: No, there will still be no Squall/Quistis hook ups, okay? I'm just updating. Anyway…R&R. Disclaimer stuff… yeah… okay… SQUALL IS STILL MINE! And Laguna will be mine as soon as I figure out a way to steal Jaina-chan's deed to him…^_~

-Rhyein


	6. Timber Mission

Squall stood in the doorway of the train car, staring blankly out the window at the underwater tunnel walls. Selphie and Zell were with him. They had all been given orders that morning by Cid to help a Timber resistance group called the Forest Owls. Squall had been appointed leader of the operation. When they had left for Balamb train station, Squall noticed that Cid had been staring at him. He had a look of fear and anticipation on his face. That expression was what Squall was thinking about.

(He's scared… Cid is stared of me, that I'll do something to screw up, or hurt someone… Like he doesn't trust me… But if he doesn't trust me, why am I here? The leader of the whole operation? …I'm just going to have to get the job done quickly and efficiently to prove that I'm reliable…) Squall's thoughts were interrupted by Zell, who was standing with Selphie, rather impatiently next to the door leading into the cabins.

"What?" Squall asked looking from one person to the other. Zell pointed toward the door.

"You have to use the ticket to get into the cabins…" Zell said. Squall pulled the ticket out of his pocket and handed it to Zell. Zell took it and walked to a console next to the door. He punched in a few numbers and a small beep registered, affirming them access to the cabins. Selphie squealed in glee and ran into the hallway, stood on her tiptoes and peeked out the window. Zell walked after her, with Squall following slowly behind. Zell opened the door of the only cabin in the hallway.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed entering the room. Squall glanced at Selphie who was contentedly singing a song about trains, and walked in after Zell. Zell was bouncing lightly on a couch in the room. There were three bunks and a desk as well. "Man! A personal cabin for SeeD! Damn it pays to be SeeD!!" Squall rolled his eyes and walked toward the couch.

"…I'm glad you're impressed…" Zell glared at Squall and stopped bouncing. Squall sat down next to Zell and leaned forward, thinking about that morning with Cid again.

"…Um… So, Squall… What do you know about Timber?" Zell asked politely. Squall sighed, would Zell ever shut up?

"Enough…"

"Come on Squall… really, what do you know?"

"Zell, I don't wanna hear it…" Squall said. Zell, however, was not deterred.

"But I wanna tell you!!" Zell whined. Squall looked up at Zell and glared at him.

"Zell… if you don't shut up right now, I'm going to tell you what hot dogs are _really_ made of…" Zell swallowed. He didn't want to know what hot dogs were made of, he liked not knowing. Squall turned his head back toward the floor. A few seconds later, Selphie entered, holding her head.

"…I don't feel so well…" she said, sitting on the couch, next to Zell. Squall stood up and looked at her.

"If you're not feeling well, you should lie down. We'll wake you up when we get to Timber…" Squall's voice trailed off as Zell stretched and yawned.

"AAAAhhhhhmmmm… I'm kinda sleepy too…" Zell said, as he and Selphie faded off into a deep sleep. Squall stared at the two of them as a high pitched buzz started ringing in his ears. His head started hurting and he suddenly felt very tired.

"…What's… happening…" Squall moaned as he fell slowly to the ground.

***

"…Uh, Laguna… Isn't the war the other way?" asked the soldier as the they slid to a stop. Laguna Loire stopped and looked around.

__

(…Where the hell am I?) Laguna put his hand to his head and blinked. He suddenly didn't feel very well. He shook his head and ignored the soldier's question.

"…I'm sure it's around here somewhere…" Laguna mumbled, running ahead. The two other soldiers looked at each other and shrugged, running after him.

__

(…What the??) Laguna slid to a halt again, next to a small log bridge. He put his hand to his head.

(Why does my head hurt?) he thought closing his eyes and leaning against a tree. Kiros and Ward came up behind him.

"Are you alright?" Ward asked, looking at Laguna. "…You don't look so hot…" Laguna pulled himself off of the tree and crossed the bridge uncertainly. Kiros and Ward glanced at each other again and followed him across. They walked a little further to find their Galbadian vehicle parked in the middle of the forest.

"What is this doing here? …Laguna, we just came full circle!!" Kiros said, slapping his forehead. Laguna stared at the vehicle and suddenly felt sick again. He shrugged at Kiros and got into the car. Ward and Kiros rolled their eyes and jumped in after him.

***

"What can I get for you gentlemen?" the waitress asked as the three soldiers sat down.

"The usual…" Laguna answered, leaning back in his seat.

"Me too…" Kiros agreed.

"Yeah, same…" Ward said. The waitress smiled and left.

__

(Huh? What?) Laguna looked up.

"What?" he asked Ward. Ward looked around, confused.

"Huh?"

"…I… uh… nevermind…" Laguna looked down at the table.

(Ack! My head hurts so much!!) Kiros shook his head and blinked.

"Hey, is anyone else's head buzzing?" he asked.

"Hey, yeah… Mine's buzzing… Ever since Timber…" Ward answered. Laguna closed his eyes.

"I feel like the whole Galbadian army is doing laps in my head…" Kiros looked over at Laguna.

"Yeah, you don't look so well either…" Kiros looked up and saw a woman walk down the staircase. He nudged Laguna. "Hey man, there's Julia…" Laguna opened his eyes and looked at the woman. She had on a long, elegant, black and red dress. She sat down at a piano in the corner and started to play.

"So, you gonna do it? You gonna go talk to her?" Laguna ignored Kiros and closed his eyes, listening to the piano music waft through the air. The sound calmed him, and the pain in his head didn't seem so important anymore. Laguna smiled to himself and ignored everything around him, just focusing upon the music. The music slowly faded and Laguna opened his eyes again. Kiros and Ward snickered as Laguna's eyes widened. Julia was walking toward them. Laguna stood up and immediately regretted it. Kiros watched as Laguna sat back down again quickly and leaned forward, his head in his hands. 

(…Dammit, my head!!) The two men stood up and pat Laguna on the back. "Good luck, my man…"

"You go Laguna!" Ward said, smiling. Then the two men walked toward the bar, leaving Laguna alone. Julia walked up to him and stopped. Laguna stood up again, a little more slowly this time. She smiled at him and he felt his heart jump into his throat.

"…Um… hi…" he said shyly, scratching his head.

"May I sit with you?" Julia asked softly. Laguna swallowed and nodded. He limped a few steps to the left and sat back down again. Julia sat next to him. "Is there something wrong with your leg?"

"Um… no… It's j-just cramping up… It d-does that when I'm …n-nervous…" Julia smiled.

"Nervous? You don't have to be nervous around me…" Laguna swallowed again and stared at her.

(I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming…) _(This is a dream, it has to be…)_

"Hmm?" Laguna said, looking at her. Julia looked puzzled.

"I was wondering if maybe we could talk… In my room?" she asked slowly. Laguna stood up again. His head started hurting more.

"Y-your r-room??" Julia nodded.

"There are too many people around here, I would like to talk a little more privately…" she whispered to him. "Just ask for my room at the front desk…" She smiled, stood up, and walked away, leaving Laguna in a state of shock. He limped numbly to the bar and ordered another drink.

"…So? What happened?" Kiros asked as Laguna downed the shot. "I mean besides you hitting negative two on the manliness scale with the whole leg thing…" Laguna glared at Kiros.

"She wants to talk to me privately…" Laguna answered, drinking another shot. Kiros dropped his glass with a loud shatter.

"…WHAT?" Laguna shrugged and turned to go up stairs.

"You're the man, Laguna!!" Ward shouted after him. Laguna waved his hand, feigning indifference at the two other men.

"Whatever…" he answered. Next to them, a bottle of alcohol exploded. Laguna ignored the sound and walked up the stairs.

***

Squall moaned as he pulled himself off of the ground. His head was pounding and he felt absolutely exhausted.

"Next stop… Timber… We will be arriving in ten minutes…" the intercom said. Squall pulled himself slowly off of the floor and sat with his back against the couch, breathing heavily. A few moments later, Zell and Selphie awoke, shaking their heads.

"Whoa… were we all asleep?" Zell asked standing up slowly. Selphie stretched.

"…Yeah… I had such a nice dream too…" Squall stayed on the floor.

(…I dreamt I was a moron…)

"Um… I had a pretty weird dream…" Zell said.

"…Sir Laguna is sooooo hot…" Selphie sighed. The two boys stared at Selphie.

"…Did you say, Laguna?" Selphie nodded. "…He was a Galbadian soldier, right?" Zell asked.

"Yup, that's him!" Selphie said. "You dreamt about him too?" Zell nodded.

"Was there a Kiros and a Ward in your dreams?" Squall asked, slowly standing up. He leaned against the edge of the couch, tryin' to keep himself from falling over. The two other SeeDs nodded.

"…Squall… Are you alright?" Selphie asked stepping closer to him.

"I'm fine… Just a little groggy…" Squall said, standing up straight. Selphie eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing. "This is strange… I'll report it to the Headmaster when we get back…" Squall said as they felt the train come to a halt.

***

The three SeeDs exited the train station at Timber and looked at their surroundings. Zell and Selphie were pretty comfortable with the atmosphere.

"Hey, this is nice! A pretty little town," Selphie exclaimed. Squall shuddered, there were too many people here.

"Yeah, kinda like Balamb…" Zell said, nodding.

(…I don't like it…) Squall thought, glancing around at the people and soldiers. In front of them, Squall noticed a teenager standing on the staircase, seemingly waiting for someone. The boy looked at him and smiled.

"The forests of Timber sure have changed…" the boy said to Squall.

"…But the Owls are still around…" Squall answered, completing the code. The boy nodded and turned, walking down the stairs.

"Welcome to Timber, sir. Follow me please." The three SeeDs followed the boy off of the platform and onto the adjacent one. Shortly after that, a large, yellow train pulled in and the door opened. "This is it, sir… Please step aboard…" Squall, Zell, Selphie, and the man all boarded the train and it pulled away from the station. Inside the train, there was another person waiting for them. "Here they are sir!" the first boy said.

"Great Watts! So, you guys are SeeD?" the second boy asked. Squall nodded.

"I'm Squall, this is Selphie and Zell…" Squall said gesturing vaguely at the other two. The second boy put his hand out for Squall to shake.

"I'm Zone, the leader of the Timber Owls, this is Watts…" Squall stared at his hand. Zone let it fall and then offered it to Selphie, then to Zell. "Well, I guess the only other person left to meet is the Princess…" Watts leaned over and whispered something in Zone's ear. "What? …Oh, she's sleeping…" Zone turned to Squall. "Hey, can you go wake up the Princess please?" Squall crossed his arms.

"What?" Zone suddenly looked like a scared rabbit. "…We were hired to do errands?" Squall said irritably through his fatigue. Zone swallowed.

"Is there a problem?" he stuttered. Squall sighed and uncrossed his arms.

(I'm too tired to argue…)

"…Fine, but this is the last time for this sort of thing…" Zone swallowed as he stared at Squall's passive, but stern face, then glanced at the large gunblade sheath hanging on Squall's belt. He looked back at Squall's face and nodded.

"She's in the last room on the left…" Squall nodded and walked up a small staircase into the hallway. Zone exhaled when Squall left the room. "Aahhhh!! My stomach!" he exclaimed suddenly and sat down, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Squall walked down the hallway slowly, he felt so tired. He passed one doorway and saw four people in the room talking and planning.

(Must be further down…) he thought, continuing on. He got to the end of the hall and leaned against the wall outside of the door.

(…Why am I so tired?) Squall closed his eyes and stood against the wall for a few seconds, trying to regain some semblance of readiness before entering the room. He took a few deep breaths and walked into the room. Lying on the bed was a girl. She had on a blue cloak and black clothing underneath. The train jerked, causing her to roll over sleepily and sit up.

"…Who? …Hey, you're that guy! …From the dance… Does that mean that you're… SeeD?" Squall nodded.

"My name is Squall, there are two others with me…" he answered. The girl stood up and jumped at Squall, throwing her arms around him.

"YES! SeeD is here!!!" She caught Squall unexpectedly and knocked him off balance. They both crashed to the floor, with her lying on top of him. She flushed red, "Oops…" she giggled, looking into Squall's eyes. "Are you okay?" Squall scrambled out from under her and took a few steps back. He turned away from her and rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited! I've been sending requests to SeeD for a dog's age and kept getting rejected. I'm glad that I spoke to Headmaster Cid directly… He such a nice man… I really am sorry…" she repeated.

"…You spoke to the Headmaster?" Squall asked, turning slowly back around.

"Yeah… Do you know Seifer?" Squall frowned and nodded. "He introduced me to the Headmaster. I didn't think that they'd actually help us out, being as small as we are, but as soon as I spoke to the Headmaster, he gave the go ahead, and here you are!"

"Oh, well… Um… I'm going back to the others now…" Squall said, turning to the door.

"Oh! Okay, I'm ready… Um… Squall?" Squall turned back to her. "Is _he_ here?"

"…Seifer?" The girl nodded. "…No, he's not a SeeD yet…"

"Oh…" she said, disappointed. Squall turned again. "Hey! Wait, my name is Rinoa… I forgot to tell you that…" she said, smiling. Squall raised an eyebrow and left the room, Rinoa following closely behind him.

***

"Okay, here's the plan…" Zone said, pointing to a small-scale map in the centre of what the Owl's called the Strategy Room. "There's a VIP from Galbadia coming to Timber. The guy's name is Vinzer Deling! Our arch-enemy, and the President of Galbadia."

"President Deling is taking a private train from the Galbadian capital," Rinoa continued. "Our plan is to..."

"Blow it up!?" Selphie asked enthusiastically. Zone, Rinoa and Watts were a little taken aback by Selphie's interjection.

"Um... Nothing so drastic..." Zone answered. "Will everyone please come closer and look at the model?" The three SeeDs took a few steps forward.

"The yellow train on the top right is our 'base'. We're riding in it right now," Rinoa began. "Right next to it is the 'dummy car'. We made it to look just like the president's car. Their train has three cars. First, there's the engine followed by the 'first escort'. The red car is the 'president's car'… Deling should be inside that one."

"The last car is the '2nd escort'. Once we get on this one, we begin the operation." Zone continued. "Our ultimate goal is to seize the president in his car using our 'base'. We'll switch our 'dummy car' with their 'president's car'. We will also use the 2 switch points leading up to Timber to carry out this operation."

"The '2nd escort' car is equipped with sensors, sir." Watts said, glancing at the SeeDs. 

"We can move across the roof to the 'president's car' without worrying too much. We'll have to complete the uncoupling before the 1st switch point. If we don't..."

"BOOM!... The End, right?" Selphie said. 

"...Yeah. So we'll have to move fast." Rinoa said. "After the car is uncoupled... We'll have the 'dummy car' and our 'base' will move in… At this point, our train and their train will be linked and be moving together. This is the last uncoupling. The process will probably be similar to the first one… If all goes well, we should be able to escape with the 'president's car'. After that, we'll return to our base and prepare to confront Deling… We have exactly 5 minutes to complete the procedures. If we fail, our train will collide with theirs at the switch point and it'll be all over… Don't forget that."

"5 minutes...? You sure that's enough?" Zell asked.

"Well, according to the simulation that we ran, it should only take 3 minutes to complete the operation. Piece of cake for you guys, right?" Zone said.

"..." Squall stared at the model in front of them. What had Cid gotten them into?

"As for uncoupling the cars, we have to unlock them manually by use of codes. I will be in charge of these codes. You have to watch out though that we don't get caught by the guards…" Rinoa said. "That's it… Do you have any questions? …Good, let's go…"

***

"Mission successful, sir!!" Watts greeted the SeeDs and Rinoa as they re-entered the train. "Great job!"

"Alright, now we are going to go confront President Deling… Time for some serious negotiations…" Rinoa said, walking toward the President's car.

(…'Serious negotiations'?) Squall rolled his eyes.

"Zell, stay here…" Squall ordered. Zell nodded as Squall followed slowly after Rinoa, with Selphie bringing up the rear. Squall leaned up against the door that led to President Deling's car and put his head in his hand.

(…I'm… so… tired…).

"Are you okay, Squall?" Selphie asked. Squall stood up straight again and shrugged.

"I'm fine…" he said, shaking his head and blinking to stay awake. They followed Rinoa into the Presidents car and stopped at the door.

"…President Deling? …If you co-operate, you will not be harmed…" she started. The President turned to her.

"…And what if I resist?" he asked maliciously. Rinoa took a few steps backward. "Young… lady?" The President stood up slowly. Squall drew his gunblade... there was something wrong... he could feel it. Everything in his body told him that this person was not really a person at all. "…I'm afraid that I am not President Deling… I'm what you would call a 'body double'… Too bad…" The "President" walked awkwardly toward Rinoa who screamed and ran back to Squall and Selphie. "Well youNG laDy… It seeMs thaT yOU feLL for It… This iS quItE AmuSiNg! YeS, QuiTe aMusInG!!" The "President" ran forward and grabbed Rinoa, biting at the flesh on her shoulder. Rinoa screamed in pain and hit the monster in the face with her hand. He let go of her and stood back, cackling loudly. Selphie pulled out her nunchaku and ran forward, smacking the "President" on the side of the head with them. Squall shook his head, he couldn't focus on anything.

(…Sleep… I just want to sleep…) Squall thought, his eyelids drooping. He pulled himself together again at the sound of Selphie screaming. The "President" was chewing on her this time. Squall ran to him and pulled the monster off of Selphie, throwing him on the ground. The "President" screamed in anger and pain, and pulled himself upright. His skin and clothing stripped away to reveal a Gerogero. Squall fell onto his knees on the floor. He was too tired to fight, he just wanted to sleep. Rinoa took a few steps back, the Gerogero was horrifying. She had not expected this to happen at all, it wasn't part of the plan... She didn't know what to do.

"Oh!!! How do you defeat a Gerogero!! We learned this in class!!!" Selphie said frantically, searching her mind for the answer. Squall raised his head and looked at the monster advancing upon him. He didn't seem afraid at all, he just stared at the monster with his passive stare, pulling himself off of the floor slowly, never taking his grey eyes off of the monster.

"Squall! Get out of the way! You're gonna get yourself killed!!" Rinoa shouted to him, backing up. Squall didn't care, the Gerogero was about five feet in front of him now, and moving faster. In a few seconds, Squall would be within the monster's arm reach. Squall just stared at the monster and raised his hand.

"Squall!" Rinoa and Selphie yelled at the same time. Squall closed his eyes and the two girls watched in surprise and awe as a beautiful purple light surrounded Squall. Suddenly, the purple light flashed and shot itself at the Gerogero. The monster screamed in pain and fell to the ground, dissolving in front of Squall. Squall hit the ground, falling on his knees. He just sat there for a few seconds before Rinoa and Selphie came near him.

"…Squall?" Selphie said quietly, advancing. Squall looked up at her blankly, and blinked slowly. "…Squall? Are you alright?" She asked kneeling next to him. Rinoa walked up behind Selphie and knelt down too.

"…How did you do that?" she asked in awe.

"…Life spell…" Squall said quietly. He seemed a bit dazed, like he wasn't all there. Selphie stared at Squall.

"Where did you get a life spell?" she asked incredulously. Squall didn't answer, he just turned his head back toward the floor and closed his eyes.

"Come on Squall, get up…" Selphie ordered, standing. She and Rinoa helped Squall onto his feet and walked him out of the room. They walked into the strategy room and made Squall sit down.

"Whoa… What happened?" Zell asked, looking at Squall, whom had started to doze. Selphie looked up at Zell.

"…You don't wanna know…" she answered. Watts rushing into the room interrupted them.

"Big news, sir!!! President Deling is in Timber right now, sir! He's at the TV Station!" Everyone turned to Watts, except Squall who was too exhausted to lift his head.

"What? Why would he use the TV Station in Timber when they can broadcast just as easily from Deling City?" Zone asked, puzzled.

"Hey! Maybe this has something to do with the Dollet Communication Tower!" Zell said. Selphie nodded in agreement.

"What?" Rinoa asked.

"…It's a communication tower that transmits radio waves… The Galbadians got is working yesterday…" Squall said, his soft voice carrying surprisingly far. Zone snapped his fingers.

"Hey… The TV Station is the only one in the world that can handle broadcasts over the air… Everywhere else is for online transmissions… They must have something really important to say to go through all that trouble…"

"…Wouldn't it be nice for the first broadcast in over seventeen years, to be a declaration of Timber's independence?" Rinoa mused. Zone and Watts looked at each other, then at Rinoa.

"…Actually… I think that could be arranged…" Zone said smiling.

***

__

Author's Note: Disclaimer shite… Um… bored out of my friggin' skull…Okay, you guys get the idea and all. R&R… I still haven't stolen Laguna's Deed yet, but it WILL be MINE! ^_~

-Rhyein


	7. Galbadia Garden

"Squall… Squall! Squall, wake up!" Selphie said, shaking Squall impatiently. Squall groaned and shook his head, had he fallen asleep? "Finally! We're back in Timber." Selphie announced. Squall yawned and stretched his arms. Selphie took a few steps back as he slowly got to his feet.

"…How long have I been asleep?" Squall asked, glancing around the strategy room. Selphie shrugged.

"You fell asleep in the middle of the debriefing for the TV Station announcement… Zell and I took the liberty of checking out our contract. Squall, it says we are to follow their orders until Timber achieves independence…" Selphie said, frowning.

"Are you serious?" she nodded. "That's pretty vague… What if Timber doesn't achieve independence?" Selphie shook her head.

"I dunno… Anyway, come on… We've got to go infiltrate a TV station…" Selphie turned and walked out of the room briskly, as Squall followed sluggishly behind.

(I'm still sleepy... Jeez, I haven't been this tired since I was a kid… Must be all the action I've been getting lately, the spells do take a lot of energy…) he thought as the door slid shut behind him.

"Hello sir! How are you feeling? Better?" Watts asked cheerfully as Squall stepped out of the strategy room. Squall raised an eyebrow at Watts.

"…Um… yeah… whatever…" Squall answered. Behind him, he heard a soft giggle. Squall turned around and there was Rinoa, with her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. "What's so funny?" he asked, annoyed. Squall didn't like it when people laughed at him.

"…Nothing," she replied.

("Whatever…" Just like Selphie said he would…) "Did Selphie fill you in on the plan?" Rinoa inquired, suddenly becoming serious. Squall shook his head.

"…Not yet."

"Okay… Well, I'll give you the run down on the way there, okay?" Squall shrugged.

"…Whatever…"

***

Quistis Trepe ran headlong through the streets of Timber.

(How that boy got out of his holding cell, I'll never know…) she thought, sliding to a halt.

(…Now where was that damn TV Station again?) She looked around quickly, seeing a small pub; maybe they knew how to get to the TV station.

"I'm gonna kill Seifer when I get my hands on him," Quistis murmured under her breath, pushing the door to the bar open. "…Um… Excuse me?" she said, trying to attract the bartender's attention.

"…Hmm? Yes? Can I help you, young woman?" the bartender answered, looking up from his drink list. Quistis walked closer to him.

"…Um… I was wondering if you knew the shortest way to the TV Station?" Quistis asked, hopefully. The man thought for a second.

"The TV Station? Well, usually the trains are the shortest way, but none of them are running right now… Hmm… Well, if you go through the back door of this pub and into the alley behind, you should get there. It'll take a while, but you'll get there nonetheless," Quistis nodded.

"Thank you very much, sir…" Quistis stated, and turned to leave.

"Hey!" Quistis turned again. "It's that door," the man said, pointing to the rear. Quistis smiled and walked to the door. Sitting in front of it, was a somewhat inebriated man.

"Um… can I get through here?" Quistis asked politely. The man glanced up at her and smiled.

"Hell, fer a purty *hic* …face like yours, sure…" the man slowly stood up and moved to the side. Quistis nodded her thanks and went through the door. After she had gone through, the man sat back down in front of the door, and ordered another drink.

Quistis ran through the alleyway behind the pub, stopping only once at a draw point to junction a few more spells.

(When I get my hands on him…) she thought running up a large staircase at the end of the alley. She stopped at the top of the staircase and tried to catch her breath. Ahead, she saw the TV Station, and a small figure running toward it… Seifer.

"I'm-gonna-kill-him… I'm-gonna-kill-him… I'm-gonna-kill-him…" Quistis chanted under her breath as she sprinted after him. "Seifer Almasy! Get your skinny carcass back here!" she shouted.

(Why is he always this difficult?!?) Quistis thought angrily as she ran up another stairwell. At the top of the stairwell was a large video screen crackling with static.

(What the hell is Deling doing?) She quickly glanced over the city of Timber before running up the next set of stairs, into the TV Station.

***

"Whoa, that TV is huge!" Zell exclaimed as they mounted the staircase.

"Weird... What's that noise?" Rinoa asked, shaking her head.

"That noise is broadcast over all of the radio frequencies… They have to do something about it before they can broadcast," Squall answered.

"I was kinda wondering about that myself," Zell admitted, glancing at Rinoa. The sound of footsteps resounded on the stairwell behind them. Squall turned to see Watts running up the stairs.

"The President is in the studio at the moment, sir. There are too many guards right now, so we won't be able to take the place, sir!" he panted, trying to catch his breath. Rinoa looked at Squall.

"So we can't just storm in there... We've gotta come up with a Plan B now! …If the President leaves, the guards will probably leave too… That's when we can do OUR broadcast… It might not be as influential as theirs, but it's better than nothing at all, right? We don't stand a chance if we take them head on, do we?" Squall shrugged.

"Don't worry about us… We'll fight the enemy based on your decision, that's our job," he answered.

"Yeah, you tell us to move, we move," Zell added. "Even if it's a losing battle..." Rinoa stared at the two SeeDs, shaking her head slowly.

"Sad... Act on my decision? It's your job? …Oh, how easy life it must be, to just follow orders..." Rinoa sighed. Squall moved away from her.

"Call it whatever you want... All we want is for you to accomplish your goal using our help… I find it hard to believe that you're actually going to, however…" Rinoa's mouth dropped open as she stared at Squall incredulously. Zell turned his eyes nervously toward the ground. Squall only leaned on the scaffolding guardrail and stared out at the city of Timber.

"W-What did you say!?" she began, shaking with rage. "If you have something to say to me then just say it!" Squall shrugged. "You started it. The least you can do is finish it. Come on hotshot. What's on your mind?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Squall closed his eyes.

(I'm so friggin' tired… Why did I have to open my big mouth…? I could have gotten dismissed for the day to go sleep… I'm an idiot…).

"...Just forget it." Rinoa crossed her arms.

"...No… I'd like to hear this…"

"…"

"Alright then, this is an order… An order from your client!" Squall sighed.

(There is no way I'm gonna get out of this one, I might as well tell her…) Squall opened his eyes and turned to Rinoa.

"You asked for it… Tell me, how serious are you...? Truly...? …The three of you sit down on the floor to plan out your strategy? …On top of that, you can't make a decision without our opinion on it, right?" Squall took a deep breath and continued. "How do you think we feel? Working for such an organisation?" Zell took a step closer to Squall.

"Back off, man… That's hard enough…" he whispered. Squall sighed and turned back to the city.

(I guess that's enough…) Squall thought, closing his eyes again.

"...I'm sorry. I got a little carried away…" Rinoa bit her lip and turned away.

"You know... This was just a big mistake… I thought everything would be great once SeeD got here. I guess this isn't going to be that easy." Rinoa pushed the tears away from her eyes; she was not going to give Squall the satisfaction of having made her cry. "You're hired… You're not one of us." She stopped, unable to continue. After a moment of silence, she sighed, "…Um, let's see...We'll cancel the plan and disperse for the time being… Okay?" Rinoa then turned to leave, but stopped, looking back at Squall, "You probably think this is all a game to us... Well, it's not! …We're serious," she glared at him. "…So serious... it hurts." Then she turned around quickly and ran down the stairs, bumping into Selphie along the way.

"…What's with her?" Selphie asked Squall and Zell as she reached the top of the staircase.

"…Let's go…" Squall said, ignoring Selphie's question. Just as they turned to leave the screen behind them stopped crackling and the picture cleared. A man walked in front of the camera to a podium with microphones attached to it.

__

"People of the world… Can you hear me? …Can you see me? …This is amazing, ladies and gentlemen this is no recording, this is an actual live broadcast straight from Timber! …Excuse me, I seem to have lost myself… Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Galbadian President-for-Life, Vinzer Deling…"

The man took a step to the side and another man, whom Squall recognised as President Deling, walked to the podium.

__

"Hello ladies and gentlemen… I, Vinzer Deling, Galbadian President-for-life, have a proposal of peace to make to the world… There are, unfortunately a few small problems between Galbadia and some other countries that need to be resolved first."

Squall heard a noise, which the President chose to ignore, coming from somewhere behind the camera.

__

"I am planning to hold a meeting with all of the leaders of the world to decide how to resolve these problems… Now, I will introduce to you the ambassador who will be handling these negotiations, the Sorceress-"

(…Sorceress?!) Suddenly, Seifer ran into the camera frame and stabbed a Galbadian soldier who was protecting the President. The three SeeDs watched, horrified as the camera fell over and Seifer took the President hostage.

"Shit! …What are we gonna do?" Zell asked agitatedly. Squall shrugged.

"We can't interfere… It's not part of our mission…" he answered, moving to go.

"Hey, wait! Isn't that Instructor Trepe?" Selphie exclaimed, pointing at the screen. Squall whirled around and saw the blonde woman run into view and stop in front of Seifer.

__

"Don't provoke him! …Seifer, just put the gunblade down and come with me…" 

Quistis moved toward the fallen camera.

__

"Timber team! Can you hear me? Come here right now! You have permission!"

The three SeeDs glanced at each other and ran up the last set of stairs.

***

"We need to restrain him!" Quistis shouted at the soldier around her. They all ran off quickly, looking for something that might hold the teenager. Squall came up behind Quistis and stared at Seifer passively.

"…Do you honestly think you're going to get away with this?" Squall asked Seifer. Seifer scowled.

"So, what should we do with him?" he inquired, smiling maliciously at the President. Squall blinked.

(…That's right… Rinoa and him… They know each other… Is that why he's here?)

"…Hey, I get it… You're Rinoa's-" Zell started.

"Shut the hell up, chicken-wuss!" Seifer snarled. Quistis turned to Squall.

"He broke out of the restraining room this morning, and hurt a fair amount of people in the process-"she began.

"You fucking dumb-ass!" Zell interjected.

"Zell… Shut-up…" Squall whispered. Zell ignored Squall and continued.

"Instructor? You're here to take this idiot back to Garden, right?"

"ZELL!" Squall exclaimed. The President smiled calmly.

"Ah… I see, you're all from Garden? Well, rest assured that if anything happens to me, Galbadia will not hesitate in blowing you off of the map…" he said. Zell's mouth dropped open as he realised what he had just done.

Seifer rolled his eyes and started walking backward with the President.

"Great going fuckhead… Why don't you, the Instructor, and Mr. Squad Leader here clean up the mess…" Seifer backed slowly through a door to his right and disappeared. Quistis moaned and rolled her eyes, running quickly after Seifer. Squall and Selphie glared at Zell for a second and then followed her into the next room.

As they entered the room, they found Quistis frozen on the ground in front of the door. In front of Quistis on a small platform was Seifer and a woman. Seifer turned toward them and raised his gunblade, as if he was waving goodbye. Squall started to run forward, but the woman stretched her arm in his direction and he fell backward as the full force of a Stop spell hit him. To the woman's surprise, Squall stood up; the spell had only knocked him back.

"Seifer! What are you doing?" Squall shouted trying to get past the frozen Quistis and onto the platform. The woman stared coldly at Squall and gestured for Seifer to follow her as she walked toward the back of the platform. Squall reached the platform in time to see the two people walk through the wall at the back of the stage.

(…Matron?) Squall thought, raising his hand to the wall. It was solid.

"Dispel!" Selphie commanded.

"Who was that?" Quistis asked as she came back into consciousness. Squall turned slowly and saw Quistis, Zell and Selphie staring at him.

"How'd they do that?" Selphie asked quietly, her green eyes widening.

"…I don't know…" Squall whispered, staring back at Selphie. Squall glanced back at the wall.

(…Was that Matron?) He thought. (No… it couldn't have been…) Squall shook his head and looked at the group. Behind them, Rinoa unexpectedly appeared. "Let's get outta here…" Squall ordered, stepping off of the platform.

***

"Next stop, East Academy Station… East Academy Station…" the voice on the train intercom stated. The three of the five teenagers felt queasy as the train slowed down.

"…Should we wake him up?" Rinoa whispered to Quistis. Quistis shrugged.

"Might as well, he's only been out for about fifteen minutes anyway…" she whispered back.

"He did this in the middle of our TV station strategy meeting too… It's like he's had all his energy just drained out…" Quistis frowned, it wasn't like Squall to fall asleep in the middle of a meeting, especially one that determined whether or not he got paid. Quistis walked slowly across the unstable train car to the sleeping form of Squall Leonhart. The moment they had entered the train, he had handed the ticket to Selphie, who took it and opened the door into the cabins, and then had sat down with his back against the wall. Rinoa hadn't noticed that he had fallen asleep until a little while ago. Quistis leaned over cautiously as the train came to a stop.

"…Squall… Wake up…" she said softly, shaking him. Squall groaned and rolled his head forward. "…Come on Squall… We're there, we have to get off now…" Quistis glanced at Rinoa who had opened the door leading to the cabins. She was gesturing for Selphie to come.

"…Squall get up!" She said a bit louder. Squall slowly opened his eyes and looked sleepily at Quistis. She straightened back up again, towering over him. "…Come on, Zell it's time to go…" Squall blinked a few times and shook the cobwebs out of his head.

(…I need some sleep…) he thought, yawning. Quistis walked to the door leading off of the train and stopped. She waited as Zell, Selphie and Rinoa all passed her. Squall stood up unsteadily and walked off the train as well, with Quistis taking up the rear.

"Where is Galbadia Garden?" Selphie asked, looking around the countryside for anything big enough to be a school.

"Galbadia Garden is on the other side of that forest," Quistis said, pointing eastward to a large wooded area in between two cliffs. "Let's go."

The three SeeDs and Rinoa followed Quistis as she ran quickly toward the forest. She stopped at the edge of the wood, waiting for everyone to catch up. Squall was lagging far behind, he wasn't even bothering to try and run.

"Hurry up Squall!" She shouted as Selphie, Rinoa and Zell all passed her and headed into the forest. Squall ignored Quistis's calls and kept going at his own pace.

(…That dream. It was after the dream that I started to get tired… Why would a dream make me tired? I'm only this tired when I've cast either big spells or a large number of spells in a short amount of time. Hmm…) Squall passed Quistis silently, his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Get a move on Leonhart!" she ordered. Quistis glared at him as he walked by, but Squall didn't seem to notice. She rolled her eyes toward the sky and sighed, walking into the forest behind him.

Squall looked around the entrance into the forest. It seemed familiar somehow. He glanced at Rinoa and Selphie, who were standing on the path, talking. Zell was sitting on the ground off to the side.

"Um… I was thinking... There might be some big trouble with the Galbadian government..." Selphie said suddenly, looking at Squall and Quistis. "What if they catch us and then broadcast it to the whole world...!?" She stared at the ground silently, knitting her brow, worriedly. Zell stood up.

"Whatever happens, happens! Let's just keep going… I-I'm anxious about Balamb Garden… I-If anything happens to it, it's going to be all my fault. I'm the dumbass who said we were all from Garden," Zell turned to Squall. "D'you think President Deling will get even with us by attacking Garden?" Squall shrugged.

"...He might…" he answered, detachedly. Zell came up next to Squall and looked him in the eyes.

"B-B-But, there are a whole bunch of SeeDs at Balamb Garden!" Zell grabbed Squall's arm. "They wouldn't lose to the Galbadian army, would they?" Squall pulled his arm roughly out of Zell's grip.

"Depends on how big the army is..." Zell's shoulder's dropped. He stared numbly at the ground. Squall crossed his arms and looked away. Rinoa snorted angrily and took a few steps toward Squall.

"Oh, aren't you just a great leader... Do you enjoy acting heartless to your comrades?" she said. Squall rolled his eyes.

(...Not again…)

"Zell wants your support right now!"

(I knew she was gonna say that...) "Any kind of encouragement would have made..."

(That's just to make you feel like everything is okay… Am I the only one who understands that? …No, I'm sure Seifer...) "Don't you ever think or worry about the emotions of your friends!?" 

(I don't have any friends… Relying on others will only let you down in the end...)

"Don't you understand!?" she demanded. Squall sighed.

(...Whatever...) Rinoa crossed her arms impatiently, waiting for an answer.

"Are you even listening to me, Squall?" Suddenly, Squall could hear a high-pitched squeal, gradually getting louder.

(...What the!? ...This sensation...) he thought, putting his hand to his head and moaning. Rinoa watched as Squall crumpled to the ground in front of her. She gasped silently and turned around in time to see Quistis fall to the ground as well. Selphie closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead.

"M-Me, too..." she said, and passed out. Rinoa turned in a circle frantically and looked at Zell, who had resumed his place on the ground.

"What just happened!?" she asked, panicking. Zell shrugged.

"The 'dream world'," He answered.

***

"Kiros, you sure this is the place?" Ward asked uncertainly, glancing at the mountains.

"Positive," he answered. Ward shrugged.

"If you say so… I just don't wanna be patrolling the wrong place… Like _last_ time," he added, turning to Laguna. Laguna stared at the terrain and scratched his head.

(Ah!! My head hurts again…) He shook his head and blinked (Not again…).

"Uh… Sorry guys... This ain't the place..." he said turning around. Kiros crossed his arms.

"Is too... Let's go, commander…" Laguna turned back around and pulled out a map. He glanced from the map to the terrain and back again.

"?" Laguna stared at the piece of paper for a second and then turned it right side up. He glanced at it again and shook his head. "Um… I brought the wrong map." Kiros rolled his eyes. Ward snickered silently.

"Why am I not surprised?" Kiros said. Laguna put the map away and stared down the mountainside, toward the large construction site at the bottom.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Laguna declared, frowning.

(…Ack!! My head hurts soooo much!!) Laguna closed his eyes for a second.

"…Famous last words…" Ward whispered to Kiros, who snorted.

"Well, we _are_ on duty... Let's go check things out," Laguna said, opening his eyes and taking a few steps forward, "But seriously, I have a really BAAAD feeling...! Somethin' just isn't right here! …You know what they say... The unaware always happens..." Kiros raised an eyebrow.

"You mean... 'the _unexpected_ always happens', right?"

"Whatever… Now, stop your yappin' and make sure you got all your stuff..." Laguna ordered, gesturing for them to follow. Behind Kiros and Ward a tree caught on fire. Laguna walked down the side of the hill, not even noticing. The two other men glanced at each other, then at the tree and followed Laguna cautiously down the hill. "But really guys... This place gives me the creeps." The three men walked toward the large construction site at the bottom of the hill and stopped. It looked like a giant crystal pillar, there was a lot of debris and dust around, like it was being excavated or something. "...Hey…" Laguna said, looking ahead. There was a soldier coming toward them. "Looks like we've got company… Esthar soldiers… Still wearin' them flashy uniforms." Kiros and Ward turned around and saw two more soldiers come in behind them.

"Um… Laguna!!!" Ward started. Laguna waved his hand at Ward, causing one of the Estharian soldiers to turn red and explode. Kiros and Ward took a step closer to Laguna.

"Don't be such a wimp!" he said, turning around. "What the...!?"

"Wasn't our mission just to patrol...?" Kiros mumbled nervously. Ward sighed.

"Why does it have to be like this?" he said, dropping his shoulders. Laguna fidgeted tensely as he checked his machine gun for ammo.

(…Why the hell did I have to get a migraine right now and right here of all places!!) Kiros pulled out his knives and Ward took his trebuchet off of his back and aimed it carefully at the soldier in front of him. Laguna turned to the other soldier and pulled the trigger. The Estharian fell to the ground, dead. Laguna turned and saw Kiros run forward and thrust one of his knives into the stomach of the other soldier.

"Um… Wasn't there three of them?" Laguna asked, puzzled.

"There's more coming!" Ward exclaimed, backing up. Kiros turned to Laguna.

"This way!" Laguna shouted at them and ran into the crystal pillar. They got to the end of the metal grating that served as a walkway inside of the pillar and found a ladder. He turned and looked back at Kiros and Ward, then at the five Estharian soldiers behind them, trying to ignore the pain in his head.

"…Let's go!" he exclaimed, swinging his leg over the top of the ladder. They reached the bottom of the scaffolding and found another metal walkway. Laguna looked back up the ladder then to the entryway at the end of the grating. "Come on!!" he ordered, running toward the doorway. The doorway was made out of ice, as was the rest of the strange structure. Kiros and Ward followed Laguna warily into the foreign object. They wound their way through the ice caves. After what seemed like hours of running, they exited the cave, and found themselves on a steep cliff side. Laguna glanced over the edge, then turned around. Behind them, four Estharian soldiers blocked the exit.

"Awww, man! …Don't tell me we have to..." Kiros smacked his forehead.

"Of all the worst possible..." Kiros began.

"...Predicaments?" Ward finished. The three soldiers looked at each other and shrugged. Laguna pulled out his machine gun again and fired rapidly at the four Estharians. Kiros and Ward waited until Laguna was finished before going in to make sure the soldiers were dead. Three of the four soldiers fell under the machine gun's fire. The last soldier, who had black on his uniform that indicated he was an officer, held his blade at arm's length and ran at Kiros. Laguna watched helplessly as Kiros and then Ward fell to the ground. Laguna pointed his machine gun at the officer and pulled the trigger.

He was out of ammo.

Laguna's eyes widened as he realised that he was probably going to die. The Estharian soldier turned slowly to Laguna and stood, staring at him for a moment. Laguna took a few steps back and swallowed. The other soldier ran toward him, raising his blade above his head. Laguna closed his eyes and put his arms over his head, trying to fend off the attack. Suddenly, Laguna felt a surge of pain shoot through his body. It was the most pain he had ever felt in his life. It was if his skeleton was being ripped out of his body and put back in the wrong way. He opened his eyes and screamed.

It was Ultima.

The bright light cleared and Laguna sat on the ground, breathing heavily. The soldier was no where to be seen. Even the bodies of the other three soldiers were gone. Laguna just sat on the ground for a few minutes and stared at his hands. He slowly stood up and walked uneasily to Kiros and Ward.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked hoarsely. Kiros opened his eyes slowly.

"…I think so… What happened?" Laguna shook his head.

"…I dunno…" Laguna helped Kiros up. Kiros turned his head to Ward.

"…Ward?" The big man slowly moved his head, acknowledging that he was still alive. They helped Ward stand up and then pulled themselves to the cliff side. Laguna leaned over the side a little, still holdin onto Kiros and Ward.

"Look, the ocean...We're saved! We can escape to Galbadia!!!"

"Ggghh...rrrhhh..." Ward growled. Laguna turned his face to Ward.

"What'd you say?" 

"I think... his throat... got injured... He must've lost...his voice," Kiros answered.

"It...wa...fu...you..." Ward tried. Laguna stared at him incredulously.

"Are you swearing at me? …You'd better not be or I'm gonna let you escape on your own…"

"It... was... fun... you... guys... La... guna... Ki... ros... It... was... fun..." Ward said again. His voice cracking. Laguna smiled.

"Hey, check it out… A boat! …We're gettin' on!"

"A... ship... They'd normally...call...it..." Kiros said, smiling weakly. Laguna rolled his eyes.

"Boat, ship, whatever... We're going back to Galbadia!" Laguna helped Kiros and Ward to the edge of the cliff and pushed them off. He watched them fall down the side of the cliff and land in the water. "Ack!! My head!!" Laguna exclaimed, closing his eyes. He felt extremely nauseous. Suddenly, Laguna lost his footing and slid off the side of the cliff. "Oh... shi...!" Laguna shouted, hitting his head on the side of the cliff.

***

Squall groaned and lifted himself slowly off the ground. He opened his eyes and saw Quistis, Zell, Selphie and Rinoa all staring at him.

(…Man… Not again… I'm so frickin' tired…) he thought closing his eyes.

"Was it the 'dream world'?" Zell asked quietly. Squall opened his eyes again and nodded.

"Well, you guys have obviously done that before," Quistis said, looking around. The others nodded. "What is it?" she asked.

"We don't know," Zell answered. Quistis furrowed her brow.

"Well, we better get a move on… Any idea how long we've been out?" she asked.

"About an hour…" Rinoa replied. Squall slowly pulled himself to his feet and leaned unsteadily against a tree, his whole body hurt. The others started walking again.

"How do you think Sir Laguna did that anyway?" Selphie piped up, trying to make conversation.

"Do what?" Zell asked, confused. Quistis looked back at Squall, who was lagging behind again.

"…He cast an Ultima spell…" Quistis answered, looking forward again.

"Whoa! He had an Ultima junctioned??" Zell said, his mouth dropping open. Quistis shrugged.

"…I think Squall would know that…" she answered. Zell looked back at Squall, who was walking slowly behind them, thinking.

(…They can't be dreams. It wouldn't hurt me when Laguna gets attacked if it were. It's real, somehow. Maybe, if I can feel his pain, he can feel mine?) Squall slowed to a stopped and leaned uneasily against a tree. The others continued ahead, not noticing.

(I'm so tired… You can only run on adrenaline for so long… I… just… want… to… sleep…) he thought, slowly closing his eyes.

"Squall!" He opened them again abruptly. "Squall, come on!!" Selphie shouted. Squall pushed himself off of the tree and walked slowly, trying to catch up.

***

"Wow… This place is huge!!" Selphie exclaimed as they approached the front gate of Galbadia Garden. "Not as big as Balamb, though…"

"Actually, I think they're both about the same size…" Quistis commented. They all stopped at the front gate and waited for Squall to catch up.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Rinoa asked quietly. Selphie and Zell shrugged and turned to Quistis. She knew Squall the best out of anyone. Quistis shook her head.

"I honestly don't know… He's never been like this as far as I can remember," she said. Squall came slowly up behind them. Quistis turned to him. "I'm going to go talk to the Headmaster here, him and I know each other and I've been here a few times… You guys should go to the reception area, it's on the second floor." They all nodded in agreement and Quistis walked into the Garden, leaving them behind. The three remaining people turned and looked at Squall. Squall sighed and followed Quistis.

"…Come on," he said quietly.

***

Quistis walked into the reception area and saw everyone sitting silently around the room. Zell on one couch, Selphie looking out the window, Rinoa standing in the back and Squall sitting on the other couch, obviously trying to stay awake. 

(Why is he so tired…?) Quistis wondered.

"Everyone…" They all turned toward Quistis, except for Squall. "Balamb Garden is safe," she began, glancing at Zell. Zell closed his eyes and sighed in relief. "The attack on the President was classified as an independent action. There was an official announcement from Galbadia saying that Balamb Garden is not being held responsible." Zell opened his eyes.

"So, Seifer's taking all the heat?" Zell asked. Quistis bit her lip.

"The trial is already over, and the sentence has been carried out..." she replied softly. Squall opened his eyes and looked at Quistis. Rinoa took a few steps forward.

"H-He was executed?" she queried. "...Of course he was. He attacked President Deling..." She turned her head away, trying not to cry. "…He sacrificed himself for the 'Forest Owls'..."

"Hey, you're a militant resistance faction, right? You had to have been prepared for something like this... I'm sure Seifer was ready too..." Quistis tried. "Don't think of it as Seifer sacrificing himself…" Quistis sighed and sat down on the couch, next to Squall. "I'm sorry. I guess that isn't much solace." Silence fell on the room.

"…You really hated Seifer, didn't you, Zell?" Selphie asked quietly. Squall glanced at Quistis and stood up. He walked to the window and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and looked at Selphie. Selphie glanced back at him.

(Squall… What's the matter with you? You look so… So pale, so… tired) she thought as she brought her attention back to Zell.

"Yeah… But he was from Garden. He was… one of us. I mean, I didn't like the guy, but executed?" Zell sighed.

"I don't really have any good memories of him," Quistis said, putting her opinion in. "I've seen some troubled kids, but Seifer was beyond troubled… Still, he wasn't really a bad guy."

"I... really liked him," Rinoa whispered, sitting down where Squall had been. "He was always so confident, so smart... Just talking to him made me feel like I could take on the world..."

"Was he your boyfriend?" Selphie asked. Rinoa shook her head.

"I'm not sure… I-I think I was in love with him… I wonder if he felt the same way?"

"Do you still like him?" Quistis asked.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't talk about it... It was sort of a summer-fling…"

(I liked him... He wasn't really a bad guy... We've known each other for a long time…) Squall thought. (Seifer... They're all talking about you in the past tense… You've become a memory…) Squall felt his heart jump in his throat.

(Will... Will they talk about _me_ like this if I die? …Squall had this and that and was this and that... Using the past tense, saying whatever? …Is this what death is all about? ...No… I don't want it to be like this!!!) Squall stood up straight and walked across the room. Quistis's eyes followed him. He didn't look well.

"What's wrong, Squall?" she asked.

"I won't have it!" Squall barked at her. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"W-What?" Zell sputtered. Squall glared at everyone.

"I'm not having anyone talk about me in past tense!" he exclaimed and ran out of the room.

"Squall!!" Selphie shouted running toward the door.

"Leave him be Selphie…" Quistis said. Selphie stopped at the door and glanced back at the other three. Rinoa stood up and walked to the door, stopping next to Selphie.

"…Let's go Selphie… I don't think he should be left alone in the state that he's in…" Rinoa said quietly. Selphie nodded and they both left the room.

***

Squall ran. His body was screaming for him to stop, for him to slow down, to sleep. He ignored the pleas and ran down the hallway toward the main courtyard. Squall slid to a stop and hit a guardrail. He held on tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. The world was spinning and there was nothing Squall could do about it. He was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. The adrenaline was quickly draining out of his system and Squall could feel exhaustion creeping up to replace it. Behind him, he heard a noise.

"…Squall?" It sounded like Rinoa's voice. Squall turned around slowly and saw Selphie and Rinoa watching him with very worried expressions. "…Squall… What's the matter? …Are you alright?" she asked. Squall didn't have time to answer before the world went dark.

***

__

Author's Note: Disclaimer stuff… yeah, yeah… screw it, whatever… *sigh* Cuddles her Squall action figure… I'll soon have a Laguna so you won't be alone on my shelf anymore! *blinks* Oh, that camera was still on? Oops…^_~ R&R

-Rhyein


	8. "We're Gonna Be Knights Together!"

"He should be alright," the doctor said to the four other teenagers. Rinoa sat down next to Squall's bed. She felt so horrible, they'd done nothing but argue the whole time and now he was sick.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Zell asked. The doctor crossed his arms thoughtfully.

"I think that we could classify this as extreme exhaustion…" he answered. "From what you've told me, and the results of the blood test, there's nothing really wrong with him… His body is just tired, that all." Quistis glanced over at Squall and sighed.

(What happened to you Squall? …What's going on inside your head?)

***

__

Twelve years earlier…

He felt heavy, as if his body was being pinned down by some imaginary weight. The child let out a whimper. It hurt... It hurt so much... That, however, wasn't the cause of the boy's distress. Before passing out again a small semblance of thought ran through the child's mind. Why did his body feel so... wrong?

Someone was moving him. He could feel his body being lifted and a sound... so far away and distant... a song? Ever so slowly, the child opened his eyes. The moment she saw those eyes open, Edea ceased her quiet humming... continuing to gently rock the boy she spoke.

"S...Squall?" Her voice was unsteady as she looked down at the small figure in her lap.

"...Matwon..." It came out as a whisper, and was quickly followed by a small moan. Edea's heart broke. Pushing back a stray lock of his sweat-soaked hair, she gently laid Squall back down on her bed. Squall whimpered softly at the movement. "... It... It hurts," he breathed.

"Shhh..." Edea began stroking the child's hair. "…I know honey… I know." Edea watched silently as Squall fell back into a pain-induced sleep. She couldn't stand watching the boy suffer. He had been unconscious for a few days. Edea sighed with relief, as she pulled a blanket over Squall's small frame.

(At least he's still alive). She stared at the child for a few seconds, trying to figure out whether or not one of her herbal broths would help him.

(Hmm… It might relieve some of his pain, the fever probably… I don't know. It's worth a try I guess…) Edea turned away from the bed and walked toward the door. The old door creaked as Edea opened it. Cautiously, she peered past the frame and saw the blonde hair of a little girl further down the hall.

"Quistis?" Edea whispered, motioning for the girl to come closer. "I need you to do me a favour, ok?" Always happy to oblige, little Quisty nodded eagerly. "I have to go to the garden for a minute, to get some medicine for Squall. Will you make sure that none of the other children disturb him while I'm gone?"

"Sure, Matron" the girl replied.

"Thank you, dear." Edea sighed, making her way towards the garden. Quisty smiled; delighted that Matron had entrusted her with such an important job.

She watched the older woman walk away and thought for a second.

(Squall must be really sick for Matron to be that worried about him). She sighed and leaned against the door, figuring she'd be there for a while.

Seifer stormed into the small stone cottage.

(It isn't fair!) The boy thought to himself. For the past couple of days his beloved Matron had been too preoccupied to give Seifer the attention that he craved.

(All because of stupid Squall) Seifer thought in indignation. He had hardly seen Matron at all. Aside from preparing the children's meals it seemed as though Matron spent all of her time locked away in her bedroom, the place that Squall was now residing. She told the other children at the orphanage that Squall was very ill, and that he shouldn't be disturbed. In fact, Squall was supposedly so sick that Edea's husband Cid was to arrive at the orphanage in a few days in order to help out.

(HA!) The six-year-old thought. (I bet Squall's not sick at all! He's probably just faking so he can have Matron all to himself) The more Seifer reflected on this idea, the more sense it made to him. And with each passing moment the boy got angrier.

"That's it!" Seifer yelled to the air. "Squall's faking! And I'm gonna prove it!"

Seifer slinked down the hallway, careful not to be noticed by Quistis, who was standing guard outside Edea's bedroom door. As Seifer was trying to formulate a way to get Quistis away from her sentinel post, he heard a resounding crash coming from the playroom. Quistis heard the noise too, and went running in its general direction, leaving the door to Edea's bedroom unguarded. Seifer grinned at this lucky turn of events. Slowly opening the door, the boy snuck inside.

The room was dark. Edea had pulled the curtains shut, and the only source of light was one dim lamp on a dresser next to the bed. Seifer grinned as he approached that bed, deviously thinking about the expression on Squall's face as his charade was spoiled.

All thoughts of mischief flew out of Seifer's mind the minute he laid his eyes on Squall. The younger boy looked absolutely horrible. Squall's skin was a sickly white and the dark circles underneath his eyes made the boy's complexion seem even paler. Seifer was about to retreat from the room when Squall unexpectedly opened his eyes, looking directly at his rival.

"...Seifer...?" the ill child asked, confusion apparent on his face. Seifer didn't want to respond. In fact, every instinct in the boy's body was telling him to flee the room, and fast. However, even at the ripe old age of six, Seifer had a problem with following orders. Especially if those orders were his own.

Plastering an infamous smirk on his face Seifer replied, "That's my name." His gaze roamed across Matron's bed. Squall was only a year younger than Seifer, but right now, lying weakly in that bed, the child seemed so small. So... fragile. The two boys were far from close. In fact, on any other day Seifer would delight in tormenting Squall relentlessly. But now... Seifer couldn't bear to see the other boy in so much pain. Pushing aside an extra pillow, he sat down on the bed next to Squall. Squall moaned a little as the bed moved with Seifer's added weight. He winced, not having meant to hurt Squall.

"Squall? What's the matter?" Seifer asked quietly.

"…I… I don't know… It hurts…" Squall groaned, rolling away from Seifer. "…Where's Matwon?" Seifer shrugged.

"In the garden…" he answered, nonchalantly. Squall coughed loudly, shaking the bed a little, and moaned again. Seifer could tell that he was in a lot of pain. "…She's getting medicine for you, and she'll be back in a little bit…" Squall nodded. Seifer looked around the room casually, not sure of what to say next. "So… Um… Hey, do you know what Sefie did today?" Seifer asked, grinning. Squall turned back toward Seifer slowly and shook his head. "…Well, we were playing on the beach today… and she was sitting in the water, and then she started to pretend that a monster was getting her… Then Irvy ran out into the water to save her, and she pulled him in and got him all wet!" Seifer giggled, remembering the incident. Squall smiled weakly.

"…Then… what?" Squall asked.

"…Well… Then, Irvy got real mad and pushed Sefie under the water, then Quisty yelled at them… Tch… Quisty is so bossy…" Squall giggled a little and then cringed in pain. Seifer stood up. "Are you alright? Whassamatter?" he asked frantically. Squall just moaned. Behind him, Seifer heard the door open, and he turned to see Matron enter the room and stop.

"Seifer! What are you doing in here!" On the bed, Squall moaned again. Edea closed the door behind her and approached Seifer. "What did you do?" Seifer just stared up at Matron, his mouth hanging open.

(…I-I didn't do anything! I just… I just wanted to cheer him up!) He thought agitatedly. Suddenly, Squall cried out and a wave of energy passed through the room, originating from the small child's body. Behind Seifer, the lamp exploded, shattering onto the floor next to the bed. Matron and Seifer jumped at the explosion. Edea ran toward the bed and pulled Squall close. Seifer looked up at the woman, as Squall started to sob in Matron's arms.

"…Matron…?" Seifer whispered. She glanced at the other boy, seeing his eyes wide with fear.

"Seifer… It's alright, go outside with the other children…"

"Is he okay, Matron?"

"Squall's gonna be fine, Seifer, he just needs some rest," she lied. Seifer stared innocently into her eyes and nodded.

"Bye Squall…" he whispered as he left the room.

__

A few days later…

Seifer crawled silently into the kitchen, trying not to be seen. Matron's husband, Cid, had just come back from a trip and she was telling him about Squall. Seifer sat down behind the counter and listened.

"…Absorbed the powers by accident… I feel so horrible that I wasn't there to take the powers in his stead…" Edea sobbed. Cid pulled Edea closer and hugged her.

"It's not your fault Edea… You couldn't have known that she was just going to show up like that," he said, soothingly. He pulled back from their embrace and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Edea raised her eyes to Cid's.

"But Cid-"

"Shhh…" he said, placing a finger to his lips. "Don't think about it. You'll only feel worse." Edea nodded. She didn't want to think about what was inevitably going to happen to Squall. "How is he doing?" Cid asked quietly.

"…He has a fever, exhaustion… and the pain, the endless pain…" she replied.

"Is that how it was for you?"

"…No. I was tired for a while, due to the lack of control over the power, but then again, I'm a woman."

"Why does that matter?"

"…The only other sorcerer in history, Cid, was the Great Hyne… And he isn't technically a sorcerer; he's a god… Men just weren't meant to inherit the power. No man that has inherited the power has received it at Squall's age so he might be alright for now, but…"

"What happened to those men?"

"…They're dead, and unfortunately, the same thing is probably going to happen to Squall."

Seifer gasped softly and snuck out of the kitchen. As he reached the other side of the doorframe, Seifer stood up and ran down the hall to Matron's room, which was Squall's new permanent residence. Seifer stopped outside the door and swallowed.

(Squall's gonna die? …No! Matron said he'd be okay!) Seifer's eyes started to tear up. He pushed the water away savagely; crying was for babies, like Zell, and girls. Seifer turned the doorknob cautiously and walked into the room.

"Squall?" Seifer whispered, while closing the door softly behind him. He walked closer to the bed and saw that Squall was awake, staring at the ceiling. "Squall?" he said again, a little louder. Squall turned his head in the direction of Seifer's voice.

"…Seifer?" he whispered back. "What were… They sayin'?" Squall asked, forcing the words out. Seifer stopped next to the bed.

"Um... They said that… um… you're going to… um… die…" Seifer answered hesitantly. Squall's eyes grew wide and he looked away from Seifer.

"Seifer… I don't wanna die…" he sobbed.

"…You're not gonna die Squall! You can't!" Seifer said, crossing his small arms. Squall looked back at Seifer, with tears in his eyes.

"I'm not?" Squall whispered. Seifer shook his head.

"Nope. You and me gotta grow up to be knights together, remember?" Seifer said, reminding Squall of the promise that they had made the day before. Squall nodded.

"…I 'member…"

"Good! Cos' you're not allowed to die on me yet, Squall!" Seifer told him, grinning widely.

***

__

"You and me gotta grow up to be knights together…" The voice echoed in Squall's mind. His head hurt. His whole body hurt. Where was he? Squall slowly opened his eyes and found that he was lying on a bed. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and winced. The room he was in looked vaguely familiar, kind of like an infirmary. He glanced around quickly. There wasn't anyone there.

(I wonder what time it is?) He thought blankly. A figure walked into the room and turned the lights on. Squall blinked a few times and shielded his eyes. He could see the outline of a person, a woman, coming toward him.

"…Quisty?" Squall said quietly. The woman stopped.

(Quisty? …I haven't been called that since…) the woman thought, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, Squall?" Quistis answered. Squall brought his arm slowly back down as his eyes adjusted to the light. Quistis walked closer to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"…Better… I'm not nearly so tired anymore…" he replied softly.

"That's good to hear," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Squall, can you tell me why you _were_ so tired?"

"…No… I really don't know why. It started after we went to the 'dream world' for the first time, on the train to Timber," he replied, shaking his head. Quistis stared at him for a moment.

(Why? Why did he call me 'Quisty'?) She thought, moving her gaze to the window.

"What did you say?" Squall asked her, puzzled. Quistis looked back at him and blinked.

"…I didn't say anything." Squall raised an eyebrow.

"Yes you did, I heard you… You said 'Why did he call me Quisty?'," he repeated, frowning. Quistis stared at him, puzzled.

(Does he know what I'm thinking? Huh? I didn't say that out loud…) Squall's eyes widened in comprehension.

"How did you do that?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. Squall swallowed.

"Um… I just had a dream about this… Kinda like déjà vu. And in my dream you asked that out loud," he lied quickly.

(I remember now! When I was a kid… I could always tell what was going on in the other rooms… I knew what everyone was thinking…) he thought, amazed that he had forgotten. It wasn't just that he hadn't done it in a long time, he had not remembered that he could do it period (I wonder what else I can do that I've forgotten about…).

Quistis stared at him uncertainly for a few more seconds before continuing. "…Squall, we received some orders this morning from Balamb Garden. They were delivered by Fujin and Raijin-" she began.

"What did they say?" he interrupted. Quistis pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to him.

"I don't know. Headmaster Martine wouldn't allow us to open them until you awoke. We are also receiving some help from Galbadia Garden on this one. He's a sharpshooter, name's Irvine Kinneas…" she said, standing. "Come out when the doctor lets you…" Quistis walked to the door and stopped. "Oh, and I thought you might like to know… Fujin and Raijin don't think that Seifer's dead…"

***

"So, who's this boss of yours?" Irvine Kinneas asked, glancing around at the others.

Selphie ignored him; he was such a flirt. Who cared if his Galbadian accent was cute, or that he was sorta good-looking, and his clear blue eyes weren't THAT beautiful. He's just an annoying gunbunny, who's whole job is to shoot people, and he's probably about as intelligent as a wall anyway. Besides, he was too tall for her, and his long hair was too red. The cowboy hat was kinda cute, but it didn't look good on him anyway… It would look much better on her.

"Who? Squall?" Zell asked. Irvine rolled his eyes.

"No, the Great Hyne… Of course Squall!" Irvine said. Rinoa giggled.

"Squall is… Um… Well, um… Squall," Zell replied, scratching his head. Irvine crossed his arms.

"Is that the best you can come up with?"

"Um…"

"Squall is just kind of a soft-spoken, shy person," Selphie interrupted. "That's about it."

"…And he's the boss?" Irvine inquired. They nodded. "…Um, is that him?" Irvine asked pointing behind them. The three turned to see Squall and Quistis walking toward them. Rinoa's heart jumped. He was okay, he was conscious, and he was definitely alive.

"Hey Squall, how ya feelin'?" Zell asked cheerfully. Squall just glanced at him and then looked at Irvine. The two men locked eyes and an unspoken connection passed between them. Rinoa and Quistis were the only people who noticed this "connection;" Zell and Selphie just chattered on about how worried they had been. After a brief staring contest, Irvine looked away and Squall turned to the others.

"This is Irvine Kinneas, Squall. He's Galbadia Garden's in-house sharpshooter…" Quistis said, introducing them. "Irvine, this is Squall Leonhart. He's the leader of the operation." Irvine nodded.

(Why do I always get stuck with the leader job?) Squall thought, somewhat annoyed.

"So, what are the orders, mon capitane?" Selphie asked, enthusiastically. Squall opened the manila envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a letter from Cid. "Well? What does it say?"

"…The orders state that… That we have to assassinate the sorceress," Squall said quietly, staring numbly at the paper. Irvine's eyes widened and he quickly pulled his hat down and stared at the ground. Quistis glanced at Squall and Irvine; they both seemed very affected by this order.

"The sorceress?" Zell asked, shocked. "We have to go kill a sorceress?" Squall closed his eyes.

(This-isn't-happening… This-isn't-happening…) he chanted mentally. (Edea, we have to kill Sorceress Edea… Matron…)

Rinoa stood to the side, not really knowing what to do. She wasn't a SeeD, she had Squall, Selphie and Zell under contract, and this was definitely _not_ in the contract. But it wasn't like she could just order them not to do it.

(…Should I just go with them?) She thought. (I'm scared… Why did Headmaster Cid choose them to carry this mission out? Why not some other SeeDs?)

"Well? What exactly is the plan?" Quistis asked, pulling everyone out of their thoughts. Squall opened his eyes and glanced at the paper.

"…We're to use the sharpshooter, which I assume is Mr. Kinneas here… If that fails, we must attack her head on. We are to go to Deling City for Sorceress Edea's inauguration as the new ambassador…" Squall looked at the paper again. "…At eight o'clock tonight. We have to meet General Caraway and he will debrief us with the plan."

"Wait, General Caraway? As in the leader of the whole Galbadian Army?" Selphie spoke up. Squall nodded. Rinoa turned pale and felt as if she were going to be sick.

"This sorceress must be really bad news then," Zell said.

"…I guess this means we're going to Deling City…" Squall remarked. The others nodded in agreement.

***

The train ride to Deling City felt like it had taken forever. Irvine kept trying to hit on Rinoa and Selphie, and Quistis was jealous that Irvine was hitting on all the girls but her. To make herself feel better, she started hanging on Squall, who ignored her. Rinoa did seem to glare at Quistis whenever she would say something flirty to Squall, who would only reply with a "whatever" to anything Quistis said.

Selphie and Rinoa were talking animatedly about the best shopping centres in Deling, while Quistis and Zell argued about whether Deling City or Dollet was the best vacation spot. Squall and Irvine just stood on the escalator silently. Deling City started to become visible as the escalator rose to the street level. The others got off the escalator and kept chatting, not noticing Squall who had stopped and was looking around wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"You'll want to take the bus from here, to get to the Caraway Mansion," Rinoa said moving toward a bus stop outside of the train station.

"How do you know that?" Selphie asked. Rinoa shrugged.

"I've been to Deling City a few times…" she replied. Quistis looked suspiciously at Rinoa, but said nothing.

"…Hey, where's Squall?" Zell asked looking around. Everyone glanced at each other, where was Squall? Irvine pointed behind them. They all followed Irvine's finger and saw a rather overwhelmed Squall standing at the mouth of the train station entrance.

"What's with him?" Rinoa asked, giggling. Selphie shrugged.

"Hey Squall!" Quistis shouted, motioning for him to follow. Squall blinked and realised how idiotic he must've looked, standing there with his mouth hanging open in awe. He joined them sheepishly as the bus pulled up.

"What's with you?" Rinoa asked. Squall scratched his head and coughed.

"Um… Well, I've never been in a city this big before…" he said, embarrassed, as they boarded the bus.

"What do you mean you've never been in a city this big before?" Rinoa asked incredulously as they got off the bus a few minutes later. It had been too loud on the bus for anyone to talk without yelling in each other's ears. Squall shrugged.

"The biggest city I have ever been in is Timber, and yesterday was the first time I'd ever been in there too…" he answered. Rinoa pointed to a small path leading off the main road.

"The General's house is that way," she stated. The group started walking in the direction she had pointed. "Now, don't tell me you've never been in a big city before!"

"What about Dollet?" Zell asked suddenly, turning away from his conversation with Quistis. Squall shook his head.

"Believe it or not, that was the first time I had been off Balamb Island since I came to live at Garden…" Zell's mouth dropped open.

"You mean you've never been outside Balamb before this?" Quistis asked. "What about the training missions to Winhill and Trabia?" Squall shook his head.

"I didn't do them." Quistis's brow crinkled. If Squall hadn't done those missions, how did he get into SeeD? Quistis opened her mouth to ask him that very question, but Selphie interrupted her train of thought as they walked around a corner.

"Look! There's General Caraway's house! It's so big!" Selphie exclaimed, pointing.

Rinoa stopped and turned to Squall. The others walked on ahead as Rinoa fidgeted. Squall crossed his arms, waiting.

"Um… Squall? Is my contract still valid?" she asked finally.

"…According to Selphie and Zell, the contract is valid until Timber achieves independence, which hasn't happened yet… So, yes. It's still valid," he answered calmly. Rinoa sighed in relief.

"Okay, then whatever happens, don't leave me in this house… Do you want me to explain why?" Squall shook his head.

"You don't have to if you don't want to…" he answered. "Come on." Rinoa nodded and followed Squall to the front door.

***

"What is taking so long!?" Selphie asked impatiently, staring longingly out the parlour window at the lights of the Deling City shopping district.

"We've been waiting for quite a while..." Quistis agreed. Rinoa stood up suddenly and walked to the door.

"Ooooh... He always does this! He's so uncivil, making people wait for him. I'm gonna go complain… You guys just wait here," Rinoa said, leaving the room. A second later, her head appeared around the door. "Oh, and by the way, this is my house," she informed them, leaving again. Everyone stared after Rinoa in shock. A few minutes later, a middle-aged man, in a Galbadian dress uniform, entered the room. Squall assumed this was General Caraway.

"Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked quietly from the windowsill he was leaning on.

General Caraway glanced at the boy. There was something odd about him. "She has not received the type of training you all have, and will become a burden. It's best that she stays out of this operation," he answered. Selphie turned away from the window and sized up the General.

"So, you're Rinoa's dad?" Selphie asked. General Caraway raised an eyebrow.

"I can't remember the last time she called me that..." he answered.

"Lemme get this straight… The father is the leader of the whole Galbadian army, and the daughter is a member of an anti-government faction!?" Zell asked. "That's a… um… problem…"

"Yes. It's a serious problem, but it's one that doesn't concern you… It's our problem." He answered. Squall frowned.

(I'm afraid it might become our problem pretty soon…)

"Besides, we have far more important things to worry about," the General continued.

(Garden's orders and Rinoa's contract have the same value to us.)

"Once our mission is finished here, we're working for Rinoa, as per our contract," Squall spoke up. "I don't know what your situation is, but don't interfere when the time comes." General Caraway looked at the seventeen-year-old and blinked. He suddenly felt a small pit in his stomach. This boy was much more dangerous than he looked.

"And if I do?" The General asked quietly, looking at Squall nervously. Squall's eyes narrowed.

(What's his problem?)

"We were hired by her. Rinoa's orders are just as important to us as yours… If you interfere, we'll act accordingly," he answered with a quiet viciousness. Irvine took his feet off of the desk he was sitting behind and sat up straight.

"Hey, hey, hey... People... We're here to kill the sorceress, right? Let's get down to business," he said, trying to break the tension. This Squall was a lot different from the one Irvine remembered. General Caraway dropped his eyes.

"…Let me explain the plan. I'm sure you know about the Galbadian Government reaching an agreement with Sorceress Edea..." Everyone nodded. "Well, there is going to be a ceremony tonight to commemorate the event," he continued. "It will be held at the Presidential Residence. During the ceremony, you will split into two teams and get in position. The gateway team and the sniper team… The gateway team will enter the archway in the middle of the city and stand by. The sniper team will stand by at the entrance of the Presidential Residence until the ceremony is over."

The General pulled a small map of Deling City out of his pocket and set it on the desk. The SeeDs crowded around. "This is where the sniper team will wait," he said, pointing to the map. "That's the Presidential Residence," he continued, pointing again. "Once the ceremony ends, a parade for the sorceress will begin… That's when the front gate will open. Once the gate opens, the sniper team will move out. With the parade drawing the crowd and the guards' attention, it should be rather easy to move about. The sniper team will head for the roof of the Presidential Residence... In the corridor by the sorceress' room, there is a hatch that leads to the clock tower. The tower is housing a carousel clock. You will find a sniper rifle there. Stand by in the clock tower until exactly 8:00. The parade begins by the gate, and the sorceress will be riding on a parade vehicle. After leaving the gate, the vehicle will turn left. The parade will circle once around the city along the outer road and return to the Presidential Residence. It will arrive on the opposite side and turn right, toward the arch. At exactly 8:00, the parade will pass under the archway…"

"At this point, the gateway team will operate the controls to drop the gates. The sorceress will be trapped inside the archway. At 8:00, the carousel clock will rise out of the roof of the Presidential Residence, carrying the sniper team up as well. There will be no obstruction between the sniper team and the sorceress… Take the open shot." The General folded the map and placed it back in his pocket. "That is all for the moment. Now we just wait… You're free to do anything. Take a look around the city if you wish. Just stay out of trouble." Squall furrowed his brow.

(What do you take us for? We wouldn't be SeeDs if we didn't know how to behave… We're not your daughter…)

"Report back here when you're ready. We'll hold a final meeting then, and after that, we'll proceed with the operation."

***

__

Author's Note: Okay, this chapter was co-written by my friend and fellow CBB conspirator, SarcasticVAL. ^_^ She's my muse and Jaina's evil inspiration faerie, and also the owner of Irvine! *snaps her fingers* I'll get all those Deeds yet! Anyway, she wrote a lot of the flashback sequence. LALALALA! R&R… almost done updating! YAY!

-Rhyein


	9. The Assassination

"I trust you enjoyed your free time… It is now the time to form the two teams," General Caraway announced to the five SeeDs as they re-entered the room, an hour after they had left it. "The sharpshooter and the leader of this operation will form the sniper team. The leader's role is extremely vital," he continued. "If the plan fails for some reason, or should the shooter miss, the leader must carry out a direct assault against the sorceress. This plan was carefully devised, because it is intended to be a covert operation, but our ultimate goal is to eliminate the sorceress, and we must achieve this at all cost." Squall crossed his arms and stared at the floor.

(…Eliminate the sorceress… Why were we, of all people, picked to do this? …Cid chose us, of all the SeeDs to fight Matron? Why?)

"Even if they uncover our identities," Caraway said. He took a breath and looked around at the SeeDs. "Who will be leading the operation?" Everyone turned to Squall. Squall looked up again, realising he was the centre of attention.

"Huh? …Why do I always have to be the leader?!" Squall asked, glaring at Quistis. She shrugged and looked back at the General.

"I guess you're the leader. I'll leave the rest up to you," General Caraway said uncertainly. Squall rolled his eyes.

"Fine… Irvine and I are the sniper team. The gateway team is everyone else."

"Who's gonna be the leader of the gateway team?" Selphie asked, hopefully.

"Um… Instructor Trepe... I mean, Quistis Trepe, you're in charge." Quistis smiled.

"Alright," she answered. General Caraway nodded and turned to the cowboy.

"Irvine, right?" he asked. Irvine nodded. "You're the sharpshooter from Galbadia Garden?" Irvine nodded again. "Good, then you know where you need to be. Gateway Team, you should come with me, I'll show you where you will be stationed," the General said, leaving. Quistis, Zell and Selphie followed the General out of the house, leaving Irvine and Squall alone. The two men stood there in silence for a few minutes and then Irvine spoke up.

"…It's been a long time Squall," he said.

"Yes, it has," Squall answered, nodding.

"You're different."

"I'm sure it's strange for you to see me healthy," Squall answered bitterly.

"Well obviously you're not the same sickly little boy that I remember… But that wasn't what I meant when I said that…" Irvine said, shaking his head.

"Whatever…" Squall shrugged.

"So… We have to kill Matron," Irvine said slowly. 

(No… YOU have to kill Matron) Squall sighed. "I think we'd better go-" Squall began as the door into the parlour flew open and Rinoa slid in.

"Whew… Couldn't get away," she panted. "…Where's everyone else?" she asked suddenly, glancing around the room.

"They've gone ahead already and we were about to do the same," Squall answered. Rinoa brightened.

"Great! I'm ready!" she said, smiling. "Look what I found!" Rinoa held a large bracelet up. "It's an Odine Bangle. Supposedly it suppresses the powers of the sorceress," she said. "Now, if you just wait a second, I could come up with a quick plan-"

"We don't have time," Squall interrupted. "This isn't one of your little father-daughter squabbles. Right now, we're under orders from Garden. When this mission has been carried out, we'll be under your orders again, ready to carry out whatever half-baked plans you think up. Until then, you must excuse us," Squall snapped at her. Rinoa's eyes narrowed and she took a step toward him.

"Asshole…" she said simply and smacked him. Then she whirled around and stormed out of the room. Squall stared after her and rubbed his cheek.

"I'd say she packs a wallop!" Irvine exclaimed, trying to hide his smile. Squall glared at the sharpshooter and walked out of the room. Irvine trailed behind, laughing silently.

***

Irvine walked quickly into the main square of Deling City. To one side was the arch, where Quistis and the rest were waiting in the tower to close the gates. The other way was the Presidential Palace.

"Come on Squall," he said, gesturing for Squall to follow. Irvine started walking toward the position they were supposed to wait at. After a few seconds, he realised that Squall wasn't behind him. Irvine turned in a circle quickly, looking frantically for the other SeeD. Suddenly he spotted Squall, standing right where Irvine had left him. The sharpshooter sighed and walked back to Squall.

Squall stared at the giant crowd in front of the Presidential Residence. His eyes widened and he suddenly felt dizzy. There were so many people. He found that he couldn't breathe, and the pit in his stomach was rapidly becoming a black hole.

"Squall?" Irvine said, walking up next to Squall. "…Are you alright?" Squall swallowed dryly and shook his head. "Whassamatter?" Squall just kept staring at the crowd.

(What if I accidentally touched someone? What would happen if I got pulled into the 'dream world' again? I can't seem to control my power in that world. So many people… I've never seen so many people…)

"Squall! Come on! We have to get up there!" Irvine urged. Squall shook his head quickly. "Whaddaya mean, 'no'?" Squall felt his knees start to give way, and his breathing was short and laboured. Irvine caught Squall by the arm as he hit the ground.

"I-I can't do it Irvine…" Squall whispered, closing his eyes.

"Do what? Is it because Edea is Matron?" Irvine asked, confused. Squall swallowed.

"There's too many people Irvine, I can't go out there…" Behind him, Irvine could hear the crowd start to cheer.

(Shit. It's starting…)

"Squall, please, get up!" Irvine pleaded. "We only have one shot at this and we're gonna blow it if you don't get up!" Squall swallowed again and pulled himself slowly up. Irvine watched him take three steps forward and stop again.

"I can't!" Squall replied, turning around again. Irvine stared at Squall for a second. This was the great leader of the operation? He was scared of a crowd? Irvine sighed and walked toward Squall.

"Squall," he said, getting in Squall's face. "If you don't go out there of your own free will, I'm going to carry you there. The others are counting on us to do our part of the job. If you don't-" Irvine was cut off by a voice echoing throughout the square.

"...Scum ...Shameless lowlifes. How you celebrate my ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned for generations... Have you no shame?" Irvine turned quickly at the sound of the voice. It was Matron.

"What happened to the evil, ruthless sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered countless men and destroyed many nations? Where is she now? She stands before your very eyes to become your new ruler!" Edea laughed maniacally. Irvine turned back to Squall, who was staring at the sorceress.

"…Well?" he asked.

"Isn't there a way around?" Squall asked. Irvine shook his head.

"Everything is packed. You're just gonna have to run through," Irvine answered. 

(…Just run through. I can do that. I'll be okay. The others are counting on us…)

"Hey! Isn't that Rinoa?" Irvine asked pointing at the sorceress's podium. Squall looked up and saw whom Irvine was pointing at. It really was Rinoa.

(What the hell is she doing up there?) Squall glanced at Irvine, clenched his jaw and moved forward. Irvine was surprised at Squall's speed. They darted quickly through the crowd, and even though they weren't in the exact spot they were supposed to be in, they were close to the gate. The spot where Squall chose to stop was much less crowded than the rest of the square, there were only a few people there. Everyone else was on the other side of the street where they could see the sorceress better.

"A new era has just begun… Rest assured that your time will come." Edea continued. "This is only the beginning. Let us start a new reign of terror. I will let you live a fantasy beyond your imagination.!" The crowd cheered louder as Edea walked away from the podium.

"Are they even listening to a word she's saying?" Irvine asked incredulously. Somewhere, someone screamed. Squall and Irvine spun around quickly and saw two large creatures running down the street. They were half lion, half lizard; Iguions. The two creatures ran to the gate of the residence and launched themselves onto the podium. Above them, they heard another scream, it was Rinoa.

***

Squall and Irvine entered the Sorceress's chamber silently. To their left, they saw the hatch that led to the carousel clock, but ahead they could hear Rinoa's hysterical cries. The two men glanced at one another and nodded. Squall drew his gunblade and Irvine loaded his gun.

They burst around the corner into the main chamber and found Rinoa being circled by the two Iguions. Irvine fired a shot at one of them and the two creatures turned away from their prey to face the new threat.

"Squall! Irvine! Help me!" Rinoa screamed. One of the two monsters turned and hissed at Rinoa, causing her to go into hysterics again. The other slowly stalked the two men.

"Um, now what?" Irvine whispered to Squall. Squall stared at the creature.

"Irvine do you know how to draw?" Squall whispered back. Irvine raised an eyebrow.

"Yes…"

"Good. Then draw the Carbuncle out of that thing." Irvine looked at the Iguion and then closed his eyes, concentrating. He opened his eyes again, finding what Squall had been talking about.

"DRAW CARBUNCLE!" he shouted. Blue light shot out of the creature and entered Irvine. Squall ran forward and swung his gunblade around, cutting one of the Iguion's legs off. The monster howled in pain and fell to the ground. Irvine came forward and put a bullet in its head as Squall went for the other one.

The monster advanced slowly on Rinoa, pinning her in between itself and the wall. The howl of its counterpart distracted it long enough for Rinoa to roll out of the way. The second creature howled in pain as Squall brought his gunblade down on its hindquarters. It turned viciously and clawed at Squall's torso. Squall jumped backward, but not fast enough. The un-retracted claws ripped through Squall's shirt and skin. He fell on his back, his gunblade spinning away from him, across the floor toward Rinoa. The large creature towered over Squall, baring its teeth. Squall brought his hands up and pushed the monster's head away from him, but the Iguion was too strong.

"Irvine!" Squall shouted. Irvine was kneeling next to Rinoa, with his gun cocked and aiming. The sound of the gunshot ran in Squall's ears and the large animal fell, dead. Squall cried in pain as the full weight of the creature landed on him. Irvine ran to Squall and tried to move the Iguion's corpse, but it was too heavy. He could see Squall's chest bleeding profusely and knew that if they didn't get Squall out from under there and healed, he would probably die from blood loss.

"Shit! Squall, it's too heavy! I can't move it!" Rinoa stood up slowly from her position and timidly walked toward the dead creature.

"AAAHHHH! My leg!" Squall shouted, trying to push the monster off. Irvine glanced at Squall's left leg. The animal had pinned Squall down with its paws before Irvine had killed it. The claws were imbedded in Squall's upper thigh. "Get the bloody thing the hell off me!!" Squall yelled, trying to push the animal off. Rinoa and Irvine pushed and pulled and poked and prodded, but they couldn't get it to move at all. Squall was steadily getting weaker from the blood loss and couldn't push anymore.

"Hang in there, Squall!" Rinoa pleaded, outside she heard the sound of music. The parade was coming back around. Irvine noticed too and started pushing harder.

"Come on you stupid mumble mumble mumble…" Irvine urged. Squall's eyes were getting heavy, he just wanted to fall asleep. He couldn't feel his leg anymore and his chest was throbbing. There was nothing but the pain. Squall opened his eyes again as Rinoa called his name.

"Please Squall! Stay awake!!" Rinoa pleaded.

"…Get… out of the… way…" Squall whispered. Rinoa backed up.

"Irvine, move." Irvine looked up from the creature and raised an eyebrow. Then he glanced at Squall and took a few stepped backward. Squall closed his eyes, concentrating on the bulk lying on top of him. Rinoa watched as Squall and the creature started glowing a light purple colour. She saw Squall's lips move, but no sound came out. Abruptly, the creature started to float, dragging Squall's leg up in the air with it. Irvine ran a few steps forward and unhooked Squall's leg from the monster's claws and dragged Squall backwards.

"Was that a float spell?" Rinoa asked.

"Yeah… Shit! The clock is gonna go up any minute now!! Ah hell…" Irvine pulled Squall carefully to his feet. "Can you walk?" Squall nodded, dazed. "Great. This way." Irvine helped Squall to the hatch in the hallway and opened it. Rinoa followed behind silently. They walked slowly down the staircase and Irvine helped Squall sit down on the floor of the carousel. Rinoa picked the sniper rifle up and handed it to Irvine. He nodded his thanks and walked around the clock to where he was supposed to be positioned. Squall sat with his back against the centrepiece of the carousel and closed his eyes. He could feel his chest itching, which meant that it was healing. His leg still hurt though.

"Squall? I was scared," she whispered. Squall opened his eyes.

"It's over now," he answered quietly. Rinoa changed positions so that she was sitting next to him.

"I was really scared, not just for me, but for you too," she said quietly.

(She was worried about me? Why?)

"Just stay close to me and you'll be okay…" he told her. Rinoa nodded.

"Um… How's your leg?" Squall glanced down at his left leg. It was still bleeding a little, but the numbness, unfortunately for him, had gone away, causing his leg to throb painfully.

"I'll live," he answered. Rinoa looked at him, and noticed his shirt was shredded and bloody.

"Your chest!" she gasped, reaching for him. Squall pushed her hand away.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," he said. The wounds in his chest had already sealed most of the way up. Now they were only red marks across his skin. His leg was also healing quickly. The bleeding had stopped, but it was still painful. Abruptly, the ground beneath then began to shake and the carousel started to rise. "Shit…" he mumbled and started to pull himself up.

"Squall, you're not going to actually attack her head-on if Irvine misses, are you?" she asked, staring at him. Squall shrugged and pulled himself the rest of the way up. As Rinoa stood up, an object fell out of her pocket. Squall leaned over carefully to pick it up.

"Hey, you drop- AH!" he cried, dropping it again. He looked at his hand. The black leather was smoking slightly, the object had felt like it was burning through his hand. "What is that!?" Rinoa bent down and picked it up again.

"The Odine Ban- Aahh!" she answered, losing her balance as the clock suddenly ceased its upward movement and landed on Squall. The two teenagers fell over. Squall hissed as he landed on his leg. Rinoa quickly pulled herself off of him.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright?" Squall drug himself up again and leaned against the centrepiece. Ignoring Rinoa, he limped over to Irvine. Squall glanced at the archway and saw the gates crash to the ground and the crowd start to go crazy. Irvine held the gun up and aimed. Rinoa came up behind them.

"…I-I can't do it!" Irvine said, dropping the barrel of the gun. Squall brought himself down to Irvine's position.

"Irvine, if I can run through a crowd, you can shoot a sorceress…" Squall told him. Irvine brought the gun up again.

"No!" he cried dropping it again. "It's Matron, Squall, I can't do it!"

"That's not Matron anymore, Irvine! Matron died eight years ago, that's just a monster in Matron's body. Now shoot, damn you!" Irvine nodded and aimed the gun again, slowly he pulled the trigger and watched in horror as the bullet hit a protection field surrounding the sorceress.

"…I-I tried, Squall. I'm sorry," Irvine said, hanging his head. Squall stood up.

"It's okay Irvine, you're shooting was great," he told the other man. Then he glanced over the edge of the clock. (I can jump that…) he glanced at his leg again. It was healed completely, but still sore.

(Screw it… We're probably all gonna die anyway…) Squall took a few steps back and ran forward, casting a float spell as he descended to the ground. He hit the pavement softly, and rolled forward as his leg gave out from under him. Squall got back up and glanced around. The crowd was rioting and the Galbadian army was trying desperately to control them. To his right, Squall saw an empty car. He ran to it and found the keys still in the ignition. (Thank you Hyne!) He jumped into the driver's seat and hit the gas, ploughing his way down the road toward the archway and the sorceress.

***

Seifer took his place in front of the sorceress, ready to take the next bullet, and hoping there wouldn't be one. He drew Hyperion from its sheath and prepared for anything. Behind him, Seifer heard a loud clang and the sorceress's parade vehicle shook a little from an impact. Seifer waited. He knew who was coming, there was only one person who would dare. A grin spread across Seifer's face as his suspicions were confirmed. The person climbed onto the vehicle and stood up, glaring at Seifer. It was Squall.

(Of course, who else is stupid enough to attack the sorceress? This is gonna be fun) he thought maliciously.

"Well, well, well… Look what we have here…" Seifer mocked.

"Yeah, the sorceress's lap dog. What a pitiful sight," Squall answered.

"I prefer to be called her 'knight'," Seifer replied through his teeth.

(…Knight… _"You and me gotta grow up to be knights together…"_) the voice echoed in Squall's mind again. He quickly shook it off and narrowed his eyes.

"Whatever… You're just another delusional maniac in my opinion."

"LEONHART, YOUR ASS IS MINE!" Seifer swung the gunblade around, just missing Squall as he jumped backward a few inches.

"Squall!" Irvine shouted from the ground behind the two swordsmen. Rinoa was with him. They had gone down the long way and dodged through the rioting crowd to the archway.

"Stay back! Seifer's mine!" Squall yelled back, swinging his gunblade dangerously close to Seifer's head. Seifer ran at Squall and thrust Hyperion forward. Squall turned sideways and hit Seifer from behind with the flat of the blade, knocking the other man off his feet. Squall spun around quickly and put the tip of his gunblade to Seifer's neck. Seifer swallowed, feeling the pressure against his throat. Squall stepped back and flourished a bow.

"Would you care to try again, Mr. Almasy? This time, maybe, you can control your temper?" Squall said, his gaze dancing with mockery. Seifer's eyes narrowed as he stood up again.

Rinoa and Irvine watched the sword battle with awe. The two gunbladesmen were amazing. It was like watching artists at work. Irvine and Rinoa were so involved in the sword fight that both of them completely forgot about the sorceress, who was also watching carefully. The battle lasted only for a few minutes, but it seemed like hours. Finally, Squall relieved Seifer of his gunblade and hit him in the head with the butt of the weapon, knocking Seifer out. Then he turned to the sorceress. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the boy in front of her. There was something strange about him.

Edea quickly raised her hand and cast a stop spell as Squall came toward her. Behind Squall, Irvine and Rinoa had climbed onto the parade vehicle, but they froze as the stop spell passed over them. Squall continued toward the sorceress.

"Is that the best you can do?" Squall asked quietly. The sorceress felt very uncomfortable. Who was this boy that he could brush away one of her powerful stop spells like it was an annoying mosquito? She narrowed her eyes and raised her hand. Shards of ice appeared floating next to her. Edea made a forward motion with her hand and the ice flew at Squall, lodging themselves in his shoulder. Squall gasped in surprise and staggered backward, falling to his knees. He gazed blankly at the sorceress before the world of consciousness left him behind.

***

__

Author's Note: Wow, I didn't have an author's note for this one either. Okay, this is the end of disc one. Man, I should have updated a long time ago! o_O;;; Well, there we go! Looks all purtyful now and I'm almost done updating the chapters for it! Then I move on to I Am Not Alone! YAY! Oh, and there will be more of IANA for those of you who have read it, I promise. ^_^

-Rhyein


	10. Desert Prison

Laguna stared at the ceiling of the small bedroom. His head was giving him problems again. Why now? He hadn't had one of these headaches in almost a year. Of course, it had to choose the day he wanted to ask her. What was she going to say anyway? He loved her so much, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way. Laguna held the ring up. It shone brightly in the sunlight that poured through his bedroom window. What would he do if she said no?

"Uncle Laguna!" a voice called from the stairwell. Laguna quickly slipped the ring in his pocket and sat up. He could hear tiny footsteps running up the wooden staircase. Laguna stood up as a little girl burst into the room. "Uncle Laguna! There's a funny man here to see yoo!" she said excitedly. Laguna blinked. Someone here to see _him_?

"Me? What does this man look like?" he asked, puzzled.

"Um… He's got funny clothes and he tawks funny too, like yoo… He's tawking to Raine right now," she answered.

"Hmm… Is he at the pub?"

"Yup! That's why I came to get yoo. Am I a good girl?" she asked, smiling.

"No! You shouldn't have come over here Elle, it's dangerous! What if a monster had gotten you and tried to eat you?" Laguna replied sternly. Ellone stared at the ground and pouted.

"It's only next door…"

"It's still dangerous! A monster could've attacked you and eaten you all up! They'd be after you especially, cos' you're such a sweet little girl. If that happened, Raine and Uncle Laguna would cry…" he told her. Ellone sighed.

"It'd be o-tay, I'd just call for yoo and yoo'd come rescue me, right Uncle Laguna?" she answered, running out of the room.

"Elle! Wait!" Laguna shouted, jogging down the stairs after her.

(My head! Dammit, why now? After a year, why today of all days?) When he got to the bottom, he saw Ellone waiting at the front door for him.

"I waited! Am I a good girl?" Ellone asked. Laguna smiled and nodded.

"Yes, you're a very good girl," he answered. She grinned and walked out the front door. Laguna followed Elle onto the porch of the small house and looked around. After a few seconds, he walked to the pub and held the door open. "Elle, now's your chance!" Ellone looked around for monsters then ran toward the pub.

"Cha-nce!" she cried, as she ran through the open door. Laguna smiled and shook his head; she was just too cute. He looked out at the main square of Winhill and pulled the ring out of his pocket again.

(I don't know if I can do it today…) Laguna winced (Ah, my head is killing me!). He stared at the ring for a minute and sighed before putting it back in his pocket and entering the pub.

"…Do you understand, Ellone? Now go upstairs in your room and play," Raine scolded. Ellone turned around sadly and saw Laguna.

"I got in twouble…" she whispered.

"That's cos' you bwoke your promise. Too baaaaad…" he whispered back.

"Laguna, you will use proper English when talking to Ellone!" Raine said loudly as she walked around the bar. Laguna winced.

"I got in trouble…" he said to Ellone quietly. She giggled.

"Too baaaaad…" she answered. Laguna stuck his tongue out at Ellone and stood up straight. Standing at the bar, smiling at him was Kiros.

"Kiros!" Laguna said, surprised. He looked at Ellone. "He's Uncle Laguna's friend. He dresses kinda weird, but he's not a bad guy." Ellone studied Laguna for a second.

"Yoo dress funny, and yoo're a good guy, right?" Laguna tried to glare at Ellone, but a smile flickered on his face. He stuck his tongue out at her again and walked to the bar.

"It's been a while, Laguna," Kiros said as Laguna leaned against the bar. Raine stood behind it and cleaned glasses. "You look well…"

"Yeah, you too. So, how long has it been? Since our grand escape from Centra?" Laguna asked, smiling.

"I think one would call that being 'chased' out…" Kiros replied.

"Uh-huh, that's what I thought…" Raine said, smirking. Laguna rolled his eyes.

"Whatever…" Kiros smiled, same old Laguna.

"Well, I would say about a year or so…"

"I know I was bed-ridden for about six months… It felt like every bone in my body was in pieces. So yeah, I'd say a year is about right."

"I nursed him back to health," Raine said, glancing up. Kiros smiled at her.

"Thank you very much for taking care of Laguna… He needs someone to watch out for him," Kiros said, glancing at Laguna. "Anyway, it took me about a month to recover. Then I quit the army and came looking for you…" Kiros said.

"Why?" Laguna asked. (If my head doesn't stop hurting soon, I'm going to go insane!)

"Well, life's pretty dull without you for entertainment…" Kiros answered, smiling. Raine snickered.

"That's harsh. I've been productive here!" Laguna said, glaring at Raine. She bit her lip and cleaned more glasses with an innocent look on her face. "Anyway… Where's Ward?"

"He's working as a janitor in the D-District Prison. His voice was permanently damaged. You can tell what he wants to say by his expressions and his eyes though," Kiros answered. Laguna nodded (Poor Ward… I'm glad he's doing okay though).

"Um… How's Julia doing?" Laguna asked sheepishly. Kiros shrugged.

"I don't know..."

"You mean Julia, the singer?" Raine asked, interested.

"Yeah," Kiros said. "Laguna really liked her and always frequented the night club." Laguna blushed furiously.

"Shaddup! So what if I did!" he answered.

"Julia used to sing at a night club?" Raine asked.

"She didn't sing. She just played the piano," Kiros said, smiling at Laguna's discomfort.

"So the first song she released was 'Eyes on Me'?"

"H-How does the song go?" Laguna asked nervously.

"Don't you know?" Raine replied.

"You never let me hear it!"

"I-I didn't think you listened to music. It's about being in love... I really like it," she answered, smiling to herself.

"I heard she recently got married," Kiros said.

"Oh yeah! To some army general, right? General Caraway or something?" Raine answered.

"I'm not too sure."

"I read in a magazine that her true love went off to war and never came back. General Caraway comforted her while she was feeling down. That's how they got to know each other," Raine said, trying to remember.

"...So she didn't wait for the soldier to come back?" Kiros asked, looking at Laguna, who blushed again.

"So what! Who cares!? As long as she's happy, right? That's all that matters! …Quit looking at me like that!" Laguna said to Kiros. He turned to Ellone. "Ain't that right, Elle? As long as she's happy." Ellone nodded enthusiastically.

"Right! Uncle Laguna and Raine are..." she started. Laguna turned around again quickly, blushing even more.

"Ahhhhhhhh! OK, enough talk about this!"

"You know Laguna, I didn't even think it was possible for a human being to turn that colour of red…" Kiros remarked, grinning.

"Oh, shut up…" Laguna mumbled in response, looking at the floor. Kiros laughed.

"Man, did I miss you!" he said between chuckles.

"Whatever…"

"Hmm… I think the faeries are back," Kiros said suddenly. Laguna nodded.

"I know. Someone is playing the drums on the inside of my skull right now. Anyway, that should make our job today easier," Laguna answered.

"Drums? I just have this buzz in my ear…"

"Lucky you... Let's talk some more later, okay? How long you gonna stick around here?" Kiros shrugged.

"I dunno, is there anywhere I can stay?"

"If you're willing to work, you can stay here," Raine suggested.

"That's fine with me. What do I do?"

"You get to go on patrol with me!" Laguna told him, smiling. Kiros groaned.

"Only if you promise not to get us lost…" Raine chuckled. Kiros glanced at her. "You have no idea how many times-"

"Oh, just shut up already!" Laguna cried. "Come on." He turned away from the bar and started to walk out.

"Come back soon, Uncle Laguna!" Ellone shouted after him.

"Lunch should be ready when you get back!" Raine said loudly.

"Okay!" Laguna answered, waving his hand in acknowledgement. Next to Kiros, a vase exploded. The three others jumped.

"Oh no, not again…" Kiros mumbled, following Laguna out.

***

"Hey, Laguna..." Kiros said, slowing down as they reached the crossroads in front of the flower shop. "Do you do this patrol thing everyday?" Laguna stopped and looked at Kiros.

"'Thing'!? What're you callin' a 'THING'!?" Kiros rolled his eyes.

"Weren't you aiming to become a world-travelling journalist?" Laguna shrugged. "Well, you're heard of 'Timber Maniacs', right? I had a talk with the chief editor, and he said he's interested in any article related to world travel." Laguna's face lit up.

"That's great!" Kiros nodded.

"Yeah, we should go talk to him sometime."

"Y-Yeah... Um, it'd be ok if we stayed here a bit longer, right?" Laguna ventured. Kiros frowned.

"You need to gather more material? This seems like a really nice little town. You're gonna write about this place first, aren't you?" he asked. Laguna shook his head.

"No way. I'm not gonna make this place famous. Too much publicity and you get all those tourists and stuff." Kiros raised an eyebrow.

(Hmm… Going with Kiros would be fun… It's what I've always wanted, but…) Laguna stuck his hand in his pocket.

"You're afraid someone might come and take Raine away, aren't you? Laguna… You've changed." Laguna shrugged and turned back toward the pub.

"Hey! I see a monster!" he exclaimed and started running toward the main square.

Laguna and Kiros entered the bar and found the downstairs empty. Laguna scratched his head.

(Man, I need to get some sleep or this headache is gonna kill me…) He turned toward the staircase and went up, Kiros following behind. They got to the top of the staircase and heard voices.

"...What?" Kiros whispered. Laguna looked at Kiros.

"Girl talk... Let's come back later," Laguna whispered back and started down the stairs. "Come on!" Kiros shook his head.

"Something inside me says we should listen."

"Raine... Aren't yoo gonna marry Uncle Laguna?" Laguna heard Ellone asked. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach and closed his eyes.

(Please-say-yes, please-say-yes…) he chanted mentally.

"A guy like that?" Raine sounded doubtful. "He was carried in here crying like a baby, and I was the one who had to take care of him..." she sighed. "His crude way of speaking... I don't know if his aspirations as a journalist are very well founded... Every time I try to have a serious conversation, he avoids it... I can't stand his snoring and he talks in his sleep..." Raine stopped. Laguna opened his eyes. Kiros watched him closely and could tell that Raine's remarks had really hurt him. Ellone pouted.

"But he's really nice! I really, really like him! Raine, Uncle Laguna and Elle should all be together!" she exclaimed. Laguna smiled a little.

"...But you know..." Raine continued. "He does have nice eyes… And he's really sweet… Oh, and not bad looking eith-AH! What am I saying?" Ellone giggled. "No, Elle, I think he really wants to travel all over the world. I don't think he has it in him to live in a quiet country town like this one. Some people are like that..."

"...Yoo don't like him?" Raine sighed again.

"I feel the same as you, Ellone." Laguna sighed in relief and walked quietly down a few stairs. Then he ran back up them, acting as if he had just come in. He reached the top of the staircase and pretended to try and catch his breath. Kiros followed him, walking.

"Yay! Yoo're back!" Ellone exclaimed happily.

"I came back in a hurry!" he answered. Ellone pointed at Raine.

"Report to the commander!" she ordered. Laguna walked up to Raine and came to attention.

"Here's my report on today's patrol and monster extermination! Including Buchubuchus and Bunbuns, that Assistant Commander Ellone oh-so-hates, we've exterminated ten monsters!" he said. Raine smiled.

"Alright! Thank you. Shall we eat before you get started with the next patrol? I'll call you when it's ready, so just wait in your room." Laguna nodded. He felt tired, the headache took a lot out of him and he wasn't sure why. "Yes, you seem pretty tired. You should take a quick nap." Raine said, looking at him worriedly.

"Yoo're joining us too, right Mr. Kiros!?" Ellone asked. Kiros nodded.

"It would be my pleasure…" he answered.

"Good! We have me and Raine and Uncle Laguna and Mr. Kiros!" Ellone grinned widely.

***

Squall groaned loudly as the world around him came slowly back into focus. He was so tired. He opened his eyes and blinked. He was lying on a metal cot in a small room. Squall sat up groggily and groaned again.

(Where?) He pulled his jacket back and looked at his shoulder. It was completely healed, although his shirt was torn where the icicle had been lodged. As Squall stood up slowly the whole room started to move. He lost his balance and fell forward on his hands and knees. The room stopped moving almost as suddenly as it had started. The door in front of Squall opened and a man walked in. Squall slowly looked up into the face of Seifer.

"Pitiful…" Seifer said, shaking his head. He reached down and pulled Squall to his feet. Squall was too tired to fight back. "Take him away," Seifer ordered the two moombas behind him as he threw Squall against the back of the cell, knocking him out. Seifer turned around and left. The two moombas scurried in and picked Squall up, one took his arms, the other his legs, and they carried him out of the room.

Squall slowly opened his eyes again and found himself chained to a wall. Seifer was standing on the ground in front of him, grinning widely. Squall pulled at his bonds, trying to break free. Seifer chuckled.

"You can't get out of them," he said.

"What the hell do you want from me?" Squall growled.

"What is SeeD? The Sorceress demands to know," Seifer answered, suddenly becoming serious.

(SeeD, code name for the elite mercenary force of Balamb Garden, started to fight the Sorceress…)

"…Don't you know?" Squall asked, suspiciously.

"I'm not a SeeD. They must tell you some secret when you join."

(Not really… They didn't tell us… I've always known…)

"They didn't tell us anything… Even if they did, do you actually believe that I'd tell you?"

"I was hoping you'd say that, it makes my job more fun." Seifer snapped his fingers. Squall cried out as an electric bolt shot through his body. "Even if you don't talk, the others will. Instructor Trepe, the messenger girl, and Chicken-wuss... Ha! He wouldn't last 2 seconds!" Squall raised his head.

"...They're... all here...?" Seifer smirked.

"You bet, but since I like you so much, I thought you should go first. I was hoping you'd be there, Squall. So... How did I look in my moment of triumph? My childhood dream, fulfilled. I've become the sorceress's knight." Seifer grinned widely. Squall closed his eyes, he was in so much pain.

"…You looked… unconscious…" Squall muttered. Seifer glared at him and motioned for more electricity.

"I was great! The sorceress's knight!" Seifer shouted angrily.

(...Knight... His... dream...? But... Seifer... You're just a...)

"...torturer," Squall murmured before passing out.

"What did you call me!? Out cold, eh? This is supposed to be the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me! The evil mercenary vs. the sorceress' knight... The fun's just beginning, Squall. Don't die on me now!" Seifer said. Suddenly a picture flashed through his mind. A small, sickly boy who used to follow him everywhere, and do whatever he did, like a little brother. A promise made to be knights together_. "You're not allowed to die on me yet, Squall!"_ The voice echoed in his head. He stared up at the unconscious Squall and his eyes widened.

"Sir?" the warden said, pulling Seifer back to the present. He shook his head and pushed the memory away. Seifer looked at the man and nodded. The warden smiled and flipped the switch, causing more lightning to shoot through Squall.

***

"Come on, Squall. Aren't you tired of this yet? You just have to tell me what SeeD is and why they oppose the sorceress. It's that simple," Seifer said. He sounded bored. Squall was being much more stubborn that Seifer had thought he would be. The door into the room opened suddenly, and a soldier walked in. He saluted Seifer.

"Sir Seifer! The missiles targeted for Balamb Garden are ready to launch!" he said.

"Good." Seifer smiled at Squall. "Balamb Garden is to be destroyed on charges of training SeeDs to oppose the sorceress."

"WHAT? Seifer, you can't-" Squall began.

"Shut up puberty boy. It's a pity really, I grew up there too you know… Sorceress Edea wants it destroyed however, and I'm not going to disobey her orders," Seifer said.

"No! …Don't- Aahh!" Squall cried out again as the warden flipped the switch.

"After Garden is gone, the SeeD hunt will begin. This is going to be fun Squall, you should stick around a little longer," Seifer remarked, grinning widely. "Continue the interrogation," he told the warden and followed the soldier out. The warden flipped the switch off and walked up to Squall.

"Well? Are you going to talk?"

"…"

"That's the way it is, huh?" the warden said. He turned back to the console and flipped the switch again. As the electricity passed through Squall's body, he tried to concentrate.

(…Maybe… a spell…)

The flow stopped and Squall tried to cast a sleeping spell on the warden. The spell fizzled and failed.

(Wha? …How?)

"So? Are you gonna talk now?" the warden sneered. Suddenly he felt a little sleepy, but he quickly shook it off. "A sleep spell? Ha ha! Nice try, but there's an anti-magic field surrounding this prison." (How did he do that without speaking?) the warden thought. "What is SeeD?"

"…Go…" Squall whispered hoarsely

"What? …What was that?"

"…Go to… hell…"

"WHAT? Alright mister, you asked for it!" The warden ran to the console and flipped the switch again.

(Why? Edea should know this…) Squall thought, before he lost consciousness again.

***

Edea methodically collected the dirty plates from the table. She stopped suddenly, staring at the place in front of her. It was Squall's lunch. The sandwich and fruit that the children had been given for lunch was still sitting, untouched, on his dish. The woman sighed and glanced at the small boy, who was staring absently out the window, wrapped in a blanket. He had been out of bed for two months now, but he was still too weak to do anything other than sit at the window and watch the other children play. Edea was rather surprised that the child had any energy at all. He never ate, only picking at what he was given. Squall had problems sleeping too, he had been having nightmares for weeks, and of course the control over the power itself was exhausting for his small body. She heard Squall sigh as he stared out the window.

(It must be hard for him to have to sit in here and watch the others play…) she thought sadly. Edea took the plates into the kitchen and started to clean them off. She heard the back door open and close loudly. Edea dried her hands off and walked back into the room where Squall was. Seifer had come in and was talking to Squall.

"…Come on Squall! It'll be fun!" Seifer exclaimed. Squall stared passively at the other boy and then turned his head to Matron. Seifer turned around and saw Edea standing in the doorway.

"What will be fun, Seifer?" she asked. Seifer dropped his eyes to the floor and put his hands behind his back.

"Um… Playing tag. Can't Squall come out and play too?" Seifer asked, raising his eyes hopefully. Edea frowned as she looked at the two boys. Ever since Squall had gotten "sick" Seifer had become his protector, his best friend and his big brother. It was strange since before Squall got sick, Seifer and he had hated each other.

"…I don't know," she said, looking from one boy to the other.

(I don't think so… He's still too weak, the other children will wear him out after five minutes…) Edea thought. Then she saw Squall's face fall.

"It's okay Seifer… I don't really wanna go anyway," Squall said quietly. Edea blinked, had he known what she was thinking? No, he couldn't. Seifer stamped his foot in frustration and crossed his arms.

"Come on Squall! It'll be fun!"

"…Alright, it's okay with me… But only for a little while, alright Squall?" Edea said finally. Squall looked at Matron, surprise registering on his face. Seifer turned to Squall with a triumphant smile.

"SEE! Come on!" he grinned and waited as Squall untangled himself from the blanket slowly. Edea took the cover from him and watched him follow Seifer out the door. He stopped and looked at Matron.

"…Thank you, Matwon…" he whispered as he closed the door. Edea smiled and walked to the window. The other children all gathered around Squall and she could see them talking.

"No, he can't play! He's too slow!" Quisty argued. Seifer stuck his tongue out at her. Squall turned around to leave.

"Stop Squall!" Seifer said. "We didn't wanna play with you guys anyway!" Seifer turned and ran after Squall. "Come on Squall, we don't need them…" Squall sat down under a tree sadly and stared at the ground.

"But they're right Seifer. I'm too slow and sick… I can't play with them," Squall said quietly. Seifer frowned and sat down next to Squall.

"Well, you do get tired kinda easy… but that's cos' you don't eat or sleep enough…" Seifer pulls his sandwich from lunch out of his pocket. "Want some?" Squall shook his head. "Okay…" Seifer shrugged and tore the sandwich in half. He took a bite. Squall stared at the other half of the sandwich for a while and thought about what Seifer had said. After a minute, Squall picked up the other half of the sandwich and took a small bite. Seifer pretended not to notice, but smiled to himself as he finished off his own half.

***

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Author's Note: Only 3 more chapters to update!! Yay! Then I move on to I Am Not Alone… Maybe… If I can't force myself to work on it…^_^ R&R. *goes off to plot ways to steal Laguna and Irvine's Deeds* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

-Rhyein


	11. Coup d'Etat

"Laguna!"

(…Go away…)

"Laguna!"

(Let me sleep…)

"Laguna!!"

(Quit pulling my leg…)

"Laguna!"

(…Laguna?)

"Laguna!"

(…Laguna?!)

Squall opened his eyes slowly, trying to focus on the objects in front of him. They were moombas. There were about four of them. He groaned and shook his head.

"Laguna!" One of them exclaimed. Squall blinked and shook his head. Laguna? Where? He glanced around the room. He was still chained to the wall, but there was no one there but the moombas and himself. The moombas came toward him and started unlocking his bonds and helped him down. Squall slid to the floor as soon as his feet hit the ground. He was so exhausted.

"Laguna!" Another said, and handed Squall a vial of liquid. Squall took the small bottle and stared at it suspiciously. "Laguna!" the Moomba said again.

"Quit calling me that! I'm NOT Laguna!" Squall snapped. The moombas took a few steps back and looked at one another, communicating in guttural sounds that only they understood. Squall looked at the vial again. The liquid inside was thick and a bluish colour. He could smell the herbs in it as he brought it closer to his face. It wasn't a bad scent.

(Like flowers…) he thought to himself. The Moomba approached him and gestured to the vial. It looked frustrated, like it was trying to tell him something. Squall closed his eyes as the Moomba came closer. The sudden movement of the animal made his head hurt. His eyes couldn't focus upon it while it was moving and it hurt to try. Squall brought his other hand up to his forehead and took a deep breath. He took his hand away and opened his eyes. On his glove was some blood.

"…M-M-Medicine!" the Moomba exclaimed suddenly. Squall blinked and looked at the Moomba next to him. "H-H-Help Laguna!" The moombas all nodded their large heads and stared hopefully at Squall. He looked at the vial in his hand and back to the Moomba.

"…This is medicine?" he asked cautiously. The Moomba jumped up and down with glee. Squall stared at the vial for a second and then brought it to his lips.

(…What the hell…) he thought as he swallowed the contents. Suddenly Squall's vision cleared and the pain in his head subsided. Squall stared at the small vial (What the heck was that stuff?). He felt much better. Squall put his hand to his head again and found that the bleeding had stopped. He pulled himself off of the ground, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. Around him an alarm sounded. Squall jerked at the loud noise.

__

"Warning! Escape alert! Monsters will be set loose on each floor. If escapees refuse to surrender, you have permission to kill. The anti-magick field will be lifted," A voice said over the loudspeaker. Squall felt himself become light-headed and he could feel his energy draining.

(…Dammit… The anti-magick field is gone.) He put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes again. (I'm… so… tired…)

To his left, he heard the door open. Squall opened his eyes quickly and saw Zell, Quistis and Selphie walk through the door. Behind them he heard more moombas shouting the word "Laguna" loudly.

"Squall! Are you okay?" Selphie exclaimed, running toward him. Zell and Quistis followed her over to him. Zell pulled out Squall's gunblade and handed it to him.

"There ya go Squall. Now let's get outta here!" Zell asserted, pumping his fists in the air. Squall put the gunblade back into its sheath at his side and pushed himself off of the wall. Quistis watched as Squall wobbled, his legs a little uncertain.

"Squall? Are you alright?" Quistis asked. Squall shrugged.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" she prompted, frowning. Squall rolled his eyes.

(What does she want me to say? …No Quistis, I was tortured for a few hours and now that the anti-magick field has been lifted, my healing powers are taking over, fixing what the electricity screwed up, at the expense of my energy and sanity.)

"Yes," he answered. "Let's get outta here." The others nodded and waited as Squall walked unsteadily toward the door. Zell followed behind him, making sure that Squall had someone to fall on if he needed it. Squall seemed to realise this and glanced at Zell with his eyes full of resentment. The four SeeDs walked out of the small chamber, followed by the moombas, who were curiously silent.

__

(He is one of great power…)

Squall glanced around.

"Huh?"

__

(Yes, yes. With the blood of Master Laguna…)

(There are great things destined for him…)

Squall stopped again. The others came nearer to him, just in case.

"Squall?" Zell ventured. Squall didn't answer. Instead, he was staring at two moombas who were a little ways away, seemingly ignoring the four humans. "Squall, they're just moombas…"

"…Shut up Zell, you don't understand what the fuck you're talking about," Squall snapped at him, not taking his eyes from the moombas. Zell took a step back, he felt as if Squall had slapped him across the face.

(…The blood of Master Laguna?)

***

"Dammit, Irvine! If you don't turn this car around right now, I'm gonna kick your ass!" Rinoa shouted in the gunbunny's ear.

"OW! RINOA! THAT HURT!" he exclaimed, hitting the breaks. Rinoa jumped out of the passenger seat of the car. "Oh, come on Rinoa! Your dad told me to get just YOU. Don't make this so difficult…" Irvine climbed out of the car after her. Rinoa had already started hiking back the way they had come from. "Dammit Rinoa!" Irvine shouted after her.

"I'm going back to help them Irvine, even if you won't!" she shouted back.

"They don't need help, they'll all be fine!"

"How do you know? What if Squall is like, 'No one ordered me to escape'?" she said, turning to face Irvine. Irvine shook his head, chuckling.

"Squall's good about following orders, but he's not stupid, Rinoa…"

"Well I'm going to help them, like a GOOD friend," she growled at him. Then she turned on her heel and started back toward the prison.

"Oh, come one Rinoa! Stop it! I have orders from your dad to bring you back in one piece! …Rinoa! …Rinoa!?!" Irvine sighed. "FINE! I'LL GO WITH YOU! …Damn women," he murmured under his breath. Irvine got back into the vehicle and hit reverse. He pulled up next to where Rinoa was waiting and opened the passenger door.

"…We're really going to go back?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes Rinoa. Now get in the damn car."

"I mean it Irvine Kinneas. Do you _swear_ that if I get into this car, we will go back to the prison?" Rinoa asked sceptically. Irvine hit his head against the steering wheel and took a deep breath.

(I'm gonna kill her…) He looked up at her and raised his hands.

"I promise."

"Fine," she answered, getting into the car.

"If you weren't a girl, I swear I'd…"

***

Squall stood in the chamber staring from one person to the next. He looked at the staircase and then at the prison claw.

"I think we should take the claw down," Quistis said. "Zell's right, it'll go faster and you're too weak to go down twelve flights of stairs." Squall ignored her and looked at the moombas gathered around his feet.

"How do we get out of here?" he asked them. The moombas jumped up and down excitedly and pointed toward another staircase, one that was leading up.

"Laguna! Laguna!"

"Why do they keep saying that?" Quistis asked. "It's getting annoying."

"I dunno," Squall shrugged. "I guess that's the way out," he commented, pointing toward the second staircase.

"But that's going up," Selphie said, looking confused. "How can we get out if we're going up?"

"I don't know!" Squall said exasperatedly. "Believe it or not, I don't know everything!" he snapped. Selphie jumped in surprise and closed her mouth. Squall covered his face with his hands and sighed. "I'm sorry Selphie. I'm just tired and I want to get the hell outta here." They all agreed and walked toward the second set of stairs, Squall lagged behind, watching the moombas, and feeling very tired.

"_SEE!_ I _TOLD_ you they'd be fine!" Squall heard a voice say. It was coming from the direction of the stairwell. He glanced over and saw Rinoa and Irvine coming down the stairs.

"Oh, bite me, Irvine," Rinoa said, sticking her tongue out at him. Irvine opened his mouth to retort back, but thought better of it and resorted to glaring. "Is everyone okay? Let's get out of here!"

"The guards are all searching the lower levels at the moment," Zell said. "Now would be a good time to go."

"Yes. Let's go," Quistis agreed. The group was almost to the top of the staircase when Rinoa noticed that Squall wasn't with them.

"Squall? Hey, wait! Where's Squall?" she observed. "You guys go ahead, I'll get him…" Before anyone could object, Rinoa had run down the stairs and out of view. Irvine shrugged.

"Let's go, they should be alright," he said and started up the stairs. Quistis frowned, but followed the other three up the staircase.

"Squall? Squall, come on, we have to get out of here before the guards find you," Rinoa said, glancing around. She spotted Squall sitting against a wall, staring at a Moomba. "Squall… We have to go now," Rinoa said urgently, pulling him to his feet. He didn't fight her at all, and Rinoa was surprised at how placid he was. "Squall, are you alright?" she asked, pulling his arm over her neck to help him keep his balance.

"Yes…" he began as they started walking slowly toward the staircase. "…No…" he finished, his knees giving out from under him. Rinoa held on to him, not letting him hit the ground.

"Squall! What did they do to you?" she murmured, helping him to the staircase. As they started the arduous climb to the top of the stairs Rinoa heard a loud shout behind her.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"Shit…" Rinoa muttered, stopping. She and Squall slowly turned around to face their attackers. There were four Galbadian soldiers facing them, with guns pointed.

"Come down here," the leader said, gesturing. Rinoa obeyed quietly, helping Squall back down the stairs.

(Dammit, they're in the way…)

Squall blinked and pulled Rinoa down.

"What the…?!?" Rinoa exclaimed in surprise. Behind her she heard gunfire, and Squall pushed her head down as four bullets flew over them, hitting the guards, who fell, one by one. Rinoa turned her head and saw Irvine standing at the top of the staircase, his shotgun smoking. "Squall? How did you…?" she started, but stopped when she saw that Squall had passed out. "Irvine! Help me!"

***

"Hey! He's waking up!"

Squall groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Quistis was kneeling next to him with a worried look on her face.

"Squall? Squall, are you alright?" she asked. Squall blinked and rubbed his eyes. He looked at his surroundings and frowned. He was sitting on the floor of a train engine.

"Where the hell are we?" he murmured. Quistis sighed.

"You're on the engine of a train that Irvine and I, uh… 'liberated.' We're going back to Garden to warn them about some missiles. The Galbadian Army-"

"I know about the missiles. Where is everyone else?"

"They went to the Missile Base to try and stop the launch," Irvine answered, from behind Squall. Squall turned his head and saw the sharpshooter piloting the train.

"I didn't know you knew how to drive a train…"

"I don't. It's actually kinda easy once you get the hang of it," Irvine said, shrugging. "We'll be back in Balamb in about twenty minutes. Are you gonna be alright, Squall?" Squall nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be okay… Don't worry about me."

"What happened Squall? Why did you pass out? What did they do to you?" Quistis asked, concern apparent on her face. Squall looked away from her and watched the trees silently pass by.

"…"

"Squall… Please?" Quistis pleaded. She wanted so much for him to talk to her, to tell her what happened, to let her help him. Quistis watched as Squall's eyes glazed over and he sucked himself into his own little world and sighed. She stood up after a second and stood next to Irvine.

"I wish he'd talk to me," she mumbled to herself. Irvine raised an eyebrow.

"He's had a bad time Quistis, and from what I've heard and seen, he's not really the type to come out and tell you when something's wrong. Don't try to force him into doing something that isn't natural."

"Yeah, I guess…" Quistis glanced over at Squall. "But he can't go on like this forever. You can't go through life like that."

***

"What the hell is going on here!?" Quistis exclaimed as they entered Garden to find it in chaos. There were people running everywhere, monsters on the loose, and Garden Faculty members ordering everyone about. Quistis ran over to a faculty member to find out what was going on as Irvine helped Squall. The faculty member turned to the three teenagers.

"Do you support Headmaster Cid or Garden Master NORG?" he demanded.

"What?" Quistis asked, extremely confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you support Headmaster Cid or Garden Master NORG?!?" he demanded again, more forcefully.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Quistis exclaimed.

"You must be one of Cid's spies! SEIZE THEM!" the faculty member shouted, pointing at the three SeeDs. Quistis, Irvine, and Squall suddenly found themselves surrounded by SeeD Candidates and Grats.

"What the fuck?" Irvine muttered, pulling out his gun.

"No!" Squall said, leaning against the taller man. "Don't hurt them!"

"I'm more worried about them hurting us," Quistis said, pulling out her whip. Squall pushed himself off of Irvine and pointed his hands toward the students.

"Dammit… SLEEP!" Squall commanded, causing everyone within earshot of him, except Irvine, Quistis, and the Grats, to pass out. "Get rid of the Grats," he said softly. Quistis and Irvine obeyed, killing off the few monsters that were lurking around.

"How'd he do that?" Irvine whispered. Quistis shrugged.

"It was just a sleep spell…"

"Yeah, but so many at once? And only the students?"

"It can be done."

"Sure, by a sorceress," Irvine murmured after killing the last of the Grats. The two turned back around to see their leader sitting on the ground in the middle of the circle of unconscious SeeD Candidates, he was fast asleep. "What's wrong with him?"

"Probably the same thing that was wrong with him when we left… He was tortured for God's sake, Irvine."

"True, but you'd think he'd be in pain, not asleep," Irvine said, picking Squall up carefully.

"Who says he's not in pain?" Quistis defended. "Come on, let's get him to the infirmary if we can."

***

"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Dr. Kadowaki exclaimed as Irvine set Squall down on one of the infirmary beds.

"We've been through a bad time… Where's Headmaster Cid, and what the hell is going on here?" Quistis asked. Dr. Kadowaki walked over to Squall and stopped.

"He didn't pass out did he?"

"What? Why should that matter?"

"Just answer the question."

"I don't think so. He cast a sleep spell on a bunch of SeeD Candidates 'cos when we got here, they attacked us."

"Okay, good," Dr. Kadowaki replied, as she pulled on a pair of white cotton gloves and began examining Squall. "Everything has gotten crazy here. After the assassination attempt on the Sorceress failed, Garden split into two factions, those with the Headmaster and those against. The Headmaster is hiding around somewhere because the Garden Faculty has gone completely insane. They've released all the monsters from the Training Centre and are trying to capture all the SeeDs and the students siding with Headmaster Cid. I don't even know why, it's crazy."

"…Great… Just great. There are missiles from Galbadia headed this way and we're in the middle of a coup d'etat!" Quistis shook her head. (What's with the gloves?)

"What? Missiles?"

"Yeah, that's why we're trying to find Cid, we gotta evacuate ASAP."

"Xu should know where he is, but I don't know where she is."

"Xu? Okay, thanks for your help Dr. Kadowaki… and take good care of Squall, okay?" Quistis added. Dr. Kadowaki smiled.

"I will."

"Come on Irvine!" Quistis called running out of the infirmary, Irvine smiled at the doctor and followed after her.

***

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Author's Note: Updatingupdatingupdating… blah blah blah… I still don't own FF8, except Squall *drool* and I will get Irvine and Laguna, dammit! ^_~ Enzyvay, yeah… Okay, time for breakfast. ^_^


	12. The Commander

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Author's Note: Yada yada disclaimer stuff… you know about it… Um, this chapter has very graphic language in it so if you're offended by that sort of thing, watch out for the end. Geez this is a long chapter… Enzyvay… this chapter has half of one of my favourite parts in it… :D MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…*ahem* ^_~ Oh yeah, if anyone can catch the anime reference that I make in this and tell me what anime it is, they'll get a hug and a cookie. ^_^ Okay, R&R, blah blah blah… :P -Rhyein

***

__

Four years earlier…

"Squall! What have you done!?" Cid gasped, staring at the scene in front of him. Squall had curled up into a ball at the base of the rapidly dying tree and was crying. Lily was lying a little ways away, staring blankly at the sky. Cid took a few steps forward.

"Squall? What… What happened?" he whispered, knowing full well what the answer was.

"She… She's dead," Squall sobbed. Cid wanted to comfort the boy, but he was frightened of what he had seen. Squall's power was still very raw and untrained. Ever since Edea had disappeared, Squall hadn't had anyone to teach him how to use his gift properly. He knew that Squall hadn't meant to do what he had just done, but…

"Squall, stand up." The thirteen-year-old boy obeyed, quietly sobbing. "Go back to your room, and stay there." Squall looked up at Cid's kind face and nodded solemnly. He was dangerous, he shouldn't be allowed to be near people at all… maybe that was why everyone he loved always left him.

Cid watched the boy turn slowly around and leave. Then he looked at Lily. Cid was a little afraid to touch her after what he had seen happen. After a few minutes of internal debate, he finally bent over and picked her up. Nothing happened. Cid sighed in relief and carried her quickly to the infirmary.

***

Squall wandered the halls of Garden silently. His thoughts were in a jumble and his head hurt. Cid had told him to go back to his room, which way was it again? He couldn't remember, the only thing he could remember was Lily's icy skin, and her blank stare. He couldn't shake the picture out of his head. Squall wandered around more and finally found himself in the elevator. His body was moving without his mind's consent, he didn't know where he was going, he just knew that his head hurt and that he was cold. After a few seconds, the elevator stopped and Squall stepped out onto the third floor. He walked numbly toward the large oaken doors that were cracked open and stopped outside. Inside of the office, Squall heard voices arguing loudly.

"He CAN'T stay here!" Instructor Akira Hayashi's voice insisted.

"I agree, he's much too dangerous," Instructor Yahiko Aki's voice concurred.

"Gentleman, please-" Cid's voice started.

"Don't tell me that you're defending him, Cid. You saw him kill her for Hyne's sake," interrupted the voice of Instructor Derryn Yamoto.

"Derryn, please. He's just a child. It was an accident, and throwing him out isn't going to help him or us," cut in the quiet voice of Instructor Aoshi Shinomori.

"What do you mean, 'help him or us'?" Derryn asked suspiciously.

"Where is he going to go, Derryn? If we throw him out, he has nowhere to go and he'll either end up dead, or end up somewhere we'd prefer him not to be. How would you feel if in two years he showed up again, in much better control of his powers, and under the influence of someone like President Deling? Then there is the public. If he's found, there's a chance that whomever finds him will discover his power and report it to the world. Do you have any idea what sort of hysteria that could cause? Adel is gone, and suddenly this _boy _shows up with _sorceress_ powers… That will definitely not go over well," Aoshi argued quietly. Squall had always liked Instructor Shinomori, he was calm and collected, nothing ever got to him. Even when he was angry, he was exactly the same. Squall heard Cid sigh.

"That is exactly my reasoning," Cid huffed at the other three Instructors. "I agree with Aoshi completely. He should stay here, not only for his own good, but also for the good of the world. It could be very dangerous if he should leave Garden."

"But-" Akira began, but stopped. He was staring at the door; the others followed his gaze and saw Squall standing outside the door with wide, sad eyes.

"Squall, I told you to go to your room," Cid said anxiously. Squall stared at him and shivered.

"I'm cold…" he said softly before passing out. Instructor Shinomori was closest to the door, and jumped out of his chair, catching Squall.

"He's in shock," Aoshi said quietly, looking up at Cid.

***

Squall felt seasick. The whole world was moving up and down, up and down. He opened his eyes cautiously and found himself staring at the ceiling of the Infirmary.

"Oh! You're awake," Dr. Kadowaki exclaimed, moving toward Squall. "How are you feeling?" Squall sat up slowly and shook his head.

"…Better," he answered.

"Good. I have to let Headmaster Cid know that you're awake, he wanted to talk to you."

"Why do I feel seasick?"

"You do? Oh, yes… It seems the Garden can fly. Quistis and Irvine went down to the third level basement and found something interesting that Cid thought could save us from the missiles, and it did save us. It was pretty close though… Now, since you're feeling better, tell me why you're so tired to begin with."

"…Too much at once."

"Ah. I see. You've been fighting a lot lately so your healing capabilities are sucking out all your energy, is that it?" Squall nodded.

"That's part of it."

"Let me guess, you've been using a lot more magick than usual too?"

"Yeah. We've also been having strange things happen to us lately that seem to contribute to it."

"What kind of 'strange things'?"

"I'm not sure… It's like we fall asleep and then we're inside of someone else's head… Kinda weird. I'm not sure why it makes me tired though…" Dr. Kadowaki frowned.

"Hmmm…. Well, you're alright now. You'd better go report to Cid." Squall got out of the bed slowly and complied, walking toward the door. Just as he reached the door, it slid open and he ran into Quistis and Irvine.

"Squall! You're alright!" Quistis exclaimed happily.

"Nice to see you up and about, Squall," Irvine said, smiling a little.

"Hi… I hear that you two saved Garden," Squall replied quietly. Quistis grinned.

"Yes. It's really interesting, the inner workings of this Garden, there was a whole control room on the third level of the basement that enables the Garden to fly. It's absolutely fascinating!"

"Oh, Garden Master NORG, or whatever his name is, wants to see us…" Irvine said suddenly. Squall raised an eyebrow.

"Who _is_ Garden Master NORG?" he asked. Irvine and Quistis shrugged.

"We don't know," Quistis answered. "Let's go, shall we?"

***

"Please listen to me!" a voice cried. Squall, Irvine, and Quistis all saw Headmaster Cid being dragged toward the elevator by one of the Garden Faculty.

(What the hell?)

"Let go of me! I'm not finished! You greedy son-of-a-bitch! Why did I even bother talking to you! The SeeDs were brought up for the future and that future is now! Why the hell can't you understand!?" The three SeeDs watched as the Headmaster fought with the Faculty member futilely and then fell to his knees. "Dammit!" Cid looked up and saw that he was at the feet of the teenagers.

"…Squall!?" he whispered softly. Squall bent down and helped the Headmaster up.

"...Yes."

"I'm glad you're alright," Cid said, standing up. He looked Squall in the eyes. "I'm sorry." Then he started toward the elevator, leaving the three SeeDs behind.

"Sir, I still have to give you my report," Squall said suddenly.

"Come to my office and give it to me later," Cid answered as he got onto the elevator. Squall stared after Cid for a second and then turned to the Garden Faculty member in front of him.

"You're the SeeDs who just returned from Galbadia, correct?" he asked. Squall nodded. "Finally, Master NORG has been waiting for you. Follow me."

"Fushururu... I'VE-BEEN-WAITING," said a loud voice. The three SeeDs found that the voice came from a large machine that opened at the top to reveal a huge person with yellow skin. He didn't look human at all. "FushifuruFushifuru...GIVE-YOUR-REPORT-ON-THE-SORCERESS." Squall blinked.

(Report to him?)

"Answer him quickly, and be concise," a faculty member suggested quietly to Squall. The teenager nodded and came to attention.

"...We failed to assassinate Sorceress Edea. Confirmation of Headmaster Cid's order was made at Galbadia Garden. After that, Irvine Kinneas of Galbadia Garden joined our party... We set off to carry out the 'Sorceress Assassination' order from both Balamb and Galbadia Gardens-"

"Bujurururu! BALAMB-AND-GALBADIA'S ORDERS!? …Bujurururu! YOU-WERE-FOOLED!" NORG interrupted.

"I...don't understand what-"

"Fushurururu...EXPLAIN-TO-THEM," NORG interjected impatiently. A Garden Faculty member stepped forward.

"Master NORG has known about the alliance between the President of Galbadia and the Sorceress Edea. He heard about it from the Galbadia Garden master himself," he started.

"Fushururu... THE-MASTER-OF-GALBADIA-GARDEN-IS-A-SUBORDINATE-OF-MINE-NAMED-MARTINE."

"Yes. In fact the Sorceress and Garden are closely connected. That is why the Sorceress will definitely try to gain hold of all the Gardens. So, Master NORG sent an official order to Galbadia Garden to kill the sorceress. An assassination was thought to be the best means, but-"

"Bujurururu! THAT-SLY-WEASEL-MARTINE-USED-YOU-AS-A-LAST-RESORT-FOR-THE-ASSASSINATION. HE-GAVE-THAT-ORDER-TO-PLACE-THE-BLAME-ON-ME! THAT-BASTARD," NORG interrupted again. Squall looked at NORG sceptically. 

"Are you saying that Balamb Garden had nothing to do with that order?" he asked.

"You just happened to show up just before the mission was to be carried out, so they used you. The operation failed. The sorceress is still alive and she retaliated. Just as we suspected that she would. No doubt, it was the sorceress who ordered the missile attacks. Something must be done to calm the Sorceress's anger," the faculty member continued.

"Wait a minute. That's just..."

"In order to do so, we needed to hand over those involved in the assassination to the sorceress. We had to show Balamb Garden's sincerity."

"Bujurururu! OFFER-THE-SeeD's-HEAD-ON-A-SILVER-PLATTER-AND-PRETEND-WE-OBEY-THE-SORCERESS!" NORG reaffirmed.

"What the hell? Why aren't we fighting the sorceress!? What about all the training we endure everyday!? What good is it if we're just going to leave her alone!?" Quistis exclaimed suddenly. Squall stiffened and closed his eyes.

"WHAT-DID-YOU-SAY!? YOU-HAD-A-SORCERER-WITH-YOU-AND-YOU-STILL-LOST! QUIT-YOUR-WHINING!" Quistis blinked.

"Sorcerer?" she repeated quietly. Quistis glanced at the two boys. Irvine looked as confused as she did, but Squall was wide-eyed and staring stiffly at the ground. She wondered if he knew what NORG was talking about. Quistis thought for a second and then regained her composure.

"…Then what is Garden for? Headmaster Cid built this Garden to fight the sorceress and the sorceress is here and all we're going to do is sit back and watch?"

"Quistis… Be quiet," Squall whispered softly.

"Bujurururu! CID!? THAT-IDIOT-CID-DISPATCHED-SeeD-TO-KILL-THE-SORCERESS? AND-WHAT-IF-YOU-FAIL? THIS-GARDEN-WILL-BE-DONE-FOR! MY-GARDEN! IT-WILL-BE-ALL-OVER! THAT-IDIOT-CID. HAS-HE-FORGOTTEN-THAT-IT-WAS-I-WHO-PUT-UP-THE-MONEY-TO-ESTABLISH-GARDEN!?" NORG snapped. "I-WANTED-TO-OFFER-THE-SORCERESS-CID'S-HEAD-ALONG-WITH-SeeD'S. I-ORDERED-THE-STUDENTS-TO-FIND-CID-BUT-THEY-SIDED-WITH-HIM! Bujurururu! Bujurururu! THIS-IS-MY-GARDEN!"

"NO! It's not just yours!" Quistis exclaimed.

"Bujurururu! THEN-WHAT-IS-IT!? IS-IT-CID'S-AND-EDEA'S!? THAT-PATHETIC-MARRIED-COUPLE'S!?"

"What...?" Quistis said, her mouth dropping a few centimetres.

"Bushurururu...NOW-I-UNDERSTAND. CID-AND-EDEA-ARE-TRYING-TO-TAKE-GARDEN-AWAY-FROM-ME. YOU'RE-ONE-OF-CID'S-FOLLOWERS-AREN'T-YOU!? PREPARE-TO-DIE!" NORG shouted, preparing a spell.

"What the hell? He's gonna attack us!?" Irvine said, pulling out his shotgun. Quistis cracked her whip in NORG's direction, trying to break the demi-human's concentration.

"So what do we do, Squall?" Quistis asked, backing away from the Garden Master.

"I don't know!" Squall shouted angrily. Suddenly everything became very calm and the world seemed to go in slow motion as NORG finished his spell. Fire exploded all around Quistis, cutting her off from the two boys. Squall could hear her scream loudly as the flames encircled her. He pulled his gunblade out of the sheath and glared at NORG.

"What have we done to deserve this!?"

"Bujurururu... THIS-IS-MY-GARDEN! YOU-CAN'T-DO-AS-YOU-PLEASE!" NORG exclaimed, as he threw another spell in the SeeD's direction. Squall watched as Irvine was surrounded in ice. Squall rushed toward NORG, only to be thrown back by the force of a wind spell. He coughed and pulled himself off of the ground. Squall's eyes grew wide in horror as he realised that NORG had separated them only to give him time to call upon a GF. Squall watched NORG fall into intense concentration, and he could feel the power of the GF readying itself to be thrust upon them. 

"Somebody! Draw the GF!!" Squall pleaded helplessly, but Irvine couldn't hear Squall through the ice and there was no way that Quistis would be able to concentrate with all that fire around her. He stood there in shock for a second realising that he couldn't do anything. Suddenly an idea hit him. Squall hesitated for a second and then removed his right hand glove. He then thrust his hand toward Quistis.

"DISPEL!" he shouted. Immediately the fire around Quistis died down and she was free.

"Squall, how did you…?"

"Just draw the GF before he summons it!" Squall snapped as he dispelled the wall of ice around Irvine. Quistis nodded and concentrated on the demi-human. Squall could feel the power of the GF growing stronger as he pulled his glove back on.

"DRAW LEVIATHAN!" Quistis commanded. Abruptly, NORG was pulled out of his trance and small blue particles rushed out of him and toward Quistis. Squall took his chance while NORG was still dazed by the abrupt end of his summoning spell, and jumped up next to NORG inside of the machine.

"Fushururu...I'M-DONE-FOR! I'M-AFRAID-OF-YOU! WHY-ME?" NORG cried as Squall brought the gunblade down. The three SeeDs stood there for a few minutes in shock.

"Squall, why didn't you draw the GF by yourself!?" Quistis demanded angrily. "You could have gotten us all killed!" Squall turned away from her and crossed his arms; he wasn't talking. Quistis narrowed her eyes, but didn't push him.

(I'll find out sooner or later…) she thought, annoyed. She turned toward NORG's lifeless body. "I wonder why he did all this…" Quistis mumbled to herself.

"Haven't the foggiest… Interesting Garden you got here…" Irvine said, raising an eyebrow. Quistis turned to Squall.

"Do either of you know what he meant by 'You had a sorcerer with you and you still lost'?" Squall turned around to face her.

"I have no idea," Squall answered quietly.

"It's weird though… I mean-"

"Quistis, you of all people should know that men cannot inherit the power of a sorceress," Squall interrupted. "Let's go report to the Headmaster."

"Uh, yeah…" she replied uncertainly, exchanging a suspicious glance with Irvine as they followed Squall out of the basement.

***

"Hmm…" Cid put his hand to his mouth after Squall finished his report of the assassination attempt.

"Um, sir?" Quistis ventured.

"Yes Quistis?"

"I wanted to ask you about some things that NORG mentioned," she stated. Squall stiffened.

"What?"

"He said that you and Edea are married…"

"Yes, we are… I knew she was a sorceress when I married her, and we were okay, until…" Cid sighed. Quistis nodded. "The other thing?"

"He mentioned something about us having a _sorcerer_ with us during the mission?" Cid's eyes grew wide and he quickly glanced at Squall, who had stopped breathing. Suddenly the door to the small conference room, which had been temporarily converted into an office for Cid, swung open and Xu appeared.

"Sir! A Galbadian ship has just pulled up next to us!" Xu exclaimed.

"What do they want?" Cid asked, happy for the interruption.

"They are on the second floor balcony and said that they're Edea's SeeD and that they're here for Ellone," she answered, fidgeting. Cid nodded.

"Ah yes… Tell them I'll be there in a moment. Squall, you know Ellone don't you?" Squall nodded. "Good, can you go find her then?"

"…Yes, sir."

"Thank you. I'm coming Xu," Cid said, following the girl out of the office.

"Ellone? That girl from the dream world?" Irvine wondered. Squall blinked, she was wasn't she? He hadn't even made the connection. Sis was the little girl in the dream world. Then they were looking at the past?

"I don't know, but wasn't she the girl in the training centre after the Inauguration Dance, Squall?" Quistis replied, shrugging.

"Yes to both of you," Squall answered finally. "We should split up, the chances of finding her are greater." The other two nodded and left the room. Squall stood there for a second trying to get his pulse back down to a normal level after what Quistis had just asked the Headmaster. After a minute, he walked out of the conference room and headed for the library. Just as he had suspected, Ellone was sitting in the library reading room with a book in her lap.

"…Ellie?" he murmured quietly. Ellone put the book down and turned to him.

"Squall?" she answered, surprise registering on her face as she stood up to greet him. He took a step back in order to keep her at arm's length. Ellone stopped uncertainly and looked at the ground.

"Thank you for saving me in the Training Centre," she said after an awkward silence.

"Yeah, you're welcome… Um, Ellone?"

"Yes, Squall?"

"Tell me about Laguna."

"Uncle Laguna?" Ellie blinked. What could she tell Squall about Laguna? She could tell that Squall was uncomfortable and confused. Ellone made a mental note to find out why. "Well… He's uh… Laguna…"

"…Well then could you tell me why I keep having dreams about him?" Ellie smiled.

"That's not any easier to explain. I can tell you that it's the past, you're viewing the past through Laguna's eyes," she answered. Ellie softly started prodding at Squall's thoughts, trying to figure out what he remembered and why he was uncomfortable being near her.

"Get out of my head, Ellone." Ellie jumped in surprise. His voice wasn't angry or upset, but it wasn't exactly a request. It took Ellone a second to realise he hadn't spoken aloud. He just stared at her with his cold, blue-grey eyes.

(How did he know I was in there? And how did he tell me to get out without talking?) Ellie suddenly felt very naked, and she wasn't sure why, there was just something about the way Squall was looking at her that made her very uncomfortable.

"At least tell me why? Why do you show me and the others this?" Squall finally said aloud. "Why are you relying on me? I have enough problems as it is, Ellone. Why?" His eyes were full of emotion. Ellie stared into his eyes. She'd never seen so many emotions in conflict at once before.

"I'm sorry, Squall-"

"Squall? Have you found Ellone?" Xu interrupted, entering the reading room. Ellone turned to Xu.

"I'm Ellone."

"Good, could you come with me please?" Xu asked. She glanced over at Squall who seemed to be having a battle with his thoughts. Ellone nodded and followed Xu to the door. When she reached it she turned to Squall.

"I'm sorry, Squall, but you're my last hope."

***

"How do you work this thing?!?" Selphie exclaimed, frantically pressing buttons.

"How the hell should I know?" Zell shouted back. Rinoa just sighed and looked out the window of the large Galbadian contraption.

"Um guys?"

"Not now Rinoa! We're trying to figure out how to stop this thing!" Zell growled.

"But-"

"Just wait a second, Rinoa!" Selphie whined, pressing more buttons, obviously frustrated.

"But guys, we're shooting at Squall, Quistis and Irvine!" Rinoa bellowed.

"WHAT?" Zell rushed over to Rinoa and looked out the window. "Shit! We are! Selphie! Quit pushing-" Suddenly there was a loud explosion and the machine started to shake. "Ahhhh! We need to get out of this thing!"

"I wonder if this will help," Selphie mumbled, pressing a button marked "Escape." Behind them a hatch popped open and they could see daylight through it. "Let's get outta here!" she cried, and they sprinted to the hatch.

"Is that Selphie?" Irvine asked, as the BGH251F2 fell into the ocean.

"What?" Quistis said, glancing around. "Where?" Irvine pointed.

"I'd say that Zell and Rinoa are with her too…" Squall said, watching as a very ragged Selphie, Zell and Rinoa pulled themselves onto the platform in front of the Fisherman's Horizon train station.

"You guys are okay!" Selphie exclaimed, jumping up and down. She ran over and hugged the first person she could get her hands on, which was Irvine. Quistis covered her mouth and tried not to laugh as Irvine blinked in surprise. She could tell he was thoroughly enjoying being hugged by Selphie.

"We should get back to Garden… Come on," Squall said. Zell looked confused.

"Garden? But we're in FH?" he said.

"Come on Zell… We got a lot to talk about…" Quistis started leading Zell, Irvine and Selphie away. Rinoa stayed behind as Squall walked over to an older man who was sitting on the ground a little ways away. "It's okay now… I'm sorry that we had to fight, but…" Squall sighed. "I… I'm sorry." He turned away from the man and started to follow the others but Rinoa stopped him.

"Hi. I missed you," she said, winking. Squall blinked.

"Um… I uh… missed you too? …Sorta… Kinda…" Squall said, stumbling over the words.

"Squall?" Rinoa's mouth dropped open. "I can't believe you just said that! I'm so happy! Wow..." She exclaimed in surprise. "We better get back to Garden, huh?" Squall nodded. The two followed Quistis and the others slowly back to Garden. Rinoa walked silently next to Squall. He was very quiet.

(Edea wants to find Ellone and will do anything, including burning cities, to find her… But Edea should know that Ellone is on the White SeeD ship… I don't get it. Last time I saw Edea was when she disappeared, when I was nine… Cid had said that she died, but then she just now shows up, and is nothing like the Matron I remember.)

"Squall?" Squall blinked out of his thoughts and found himself standing next to Rinoa in the second floor hallway.

"Huh?"

"Aren't you going with Xu?" she asked. Squall blinked again. "She was just standing in front of you and said that the Headmaster wanted to see you and you said 'ok.'"

"Oh… Um… Yeah," he answered uncertainly and started off toward the Headmaster's office.

***

"I've been thinking about your report, Squall, and adding in the recent events at the train station in FH and I've come to a conclusion. Most likely, the sorceress will not stop until Ellone is found. She will continue to hunt for her, and burn everything in the way. We can't wait any longer…" Squall nodded his head.

(...So he's finally gonna tell everyone about the true meaning of SeeD… About time.) Cid turned and pressed a button, turning on the Garden's intercom system.

"This is Headmaster Cid speaking. I have an announcement to make. I have important news that I must tell all of you. Garden is being repaired at the moment and we will have to leave FH as soon as it's finished. We are beginning a journey. This is a journey to defeat the sorceress. Garden will now be used as a mobile base. The staff, and myself, will run the administration of Garden as usual. This journey will involve many battles, and a well-qualified leader is needed for this… Therefore, I am appointing Squall as your new leader. From now on, Squall will be the boss. He will decide upon our destinations and battle plans." Squall stared incredulously at the Headmaster.

(Are you serious?)

"Everyone, is to follow his orders without question."

(I can't believe this...)

"If there are any objections, please come see me in person."

(…_I_ object!) Cid turned and looked at Squall, turning off the intercom.

"Squall, we are all under your command from now on," Cid noticed the disgusted look on Squall's face and sighed. "This is your fate, Squall. It's your destiny to lead the way to defeating the sorceress." Squall opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He put his head in his hand and closed his eyes. Cid watched as he started to shake with emotion. Suddenly, Squall looked up with tears in his eyes.

"Do have any idea what the hell you're saying?!? …I'm a fucking sorcerer Cid! I can't 'lead the way to defeating the sorceress'! I barely lived through the first fight with her!" Squall shouted, shaking with anger. He turned away from Cid and put his hands on either side of his head. "You didn't even ask if I wanted to do this!! Dammit Cid! …Don't talk about this like it's been decided since my fucking birth!" he yelled through his teeth. Abruptly, Squall calmed and turned to Cid, staring at him through tear-stained eyes. "Fuck you, Cid." Squall stepped backward and the elevator went down. Cid stared at the floor, absorbing everything that just happened.

(…I don't know what you're going through Squall… But whether you like it or not… I'm right.)


	13. The Dance

TOOM 12

Cid walked into the Quad, glancing around quickly. He knew that Squall had to be around here somewhere, this is where he always went when he was upset. Cid walked forward cautiously, not wanting to alert Squall to his presence, if he was even around at all, and stopped. He found himself standing underneath the tree that had been dedicated to Lily. Cid stared down at the bronze plaque and sighed softly. The last time he had been here was the day he'd seen Squall kill her. Cid knew it had been an accident, of course, but the place had always scared him a little.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Cid heard. He looked around frantically, searching for the source of the voice. He stopped searching and looked up suddenly, seeing a dark figure lounging in the branches above.

"...Squall?" he said cautiously.

"...Yeah..."

"Squall... I know that you're upset-"

"Upset!?" the figure laughed out loud. "This goes way beyond _upset,_ Cid..." The Headmaster sighed, how was he going to do this?

"Squall... I know that you're still worried about your 'gift,' but that has nothing to do with fighting the sorceress." Squall snorted.

"Nothing, Cid? More like everything! What do you think everyone's going to say when they find out that, to destroy the most dangerous _female_ on the planet, you send the most dangerous _man_ on the planet?! Huh? What do you think will happen then?" Cid opened his mouth, but Squall continued.

"I'll tell you what they'll do. They'll think it's the greatest idea ever, then, after the sorceress -Your wife, and my teacher, by the way- is killed, then what will they do? They'll get scared. Then they'll get paranoid. Then they'll band together and try to get rid of me! That's what they'll do! It isn't just your neck riding on the line, it's mine! It's the necks of the hundreds of others who live in this Garden! It's Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Quistis's and Rinoa's necks too! They're not safe from the sorceress, the Galbadians, and especially not me! I'm the most dangerous thing they play with, and they don't even fucking know it!" Cid stared quietly at the ground.

"Squall... this is about Lily, isn't it? This is about you not wanting to hurt your new friends. Not about you being scared of the sorceress, cos' I know, and you know, that you're not really scared of her. Squall, Lily's death was an accident. An _accident… _That's not going to happen to anyone else. You're much to careful to let it happen."

"...Cid... Lily died because I fucking _touched_ her. Not the bloody spell, nothing else, because I touched her, because I have a reflex inside of me that I can't control, and will never be able to control. And it wasn't just Lily; don't forget Instructor Shinomori and the boy who worked in the infirmary that tried to help… Think about it though, what would happen if I got knocked out, or something, and one of my friends tried to help me? The moment they touch my skin... It's like signing their own death warrant," Squall sighed. "I don't think I could live with myself if that happened." Cid narrowed his eyes and stared up into the branches at Squall.

"So that's what it is then. You're being selfish, Squall. You're not worried about the sorceress destroying everything, or what would happen to Garden. Hell, you're not even really worried about your friends; you're worried about whether or not _you_ could live with _yourself_ if _you_ screw up, and then what would happen to _you_, if the world found out and what they might do to _you_. You, you, you, you, you," Cid argued, hoping to hit Squall's sense of guilt and duty.

Suddenly, Squall landed on the ground next to Cid. The Headmaster took a step backward, he could tell that he'd hit a nerve. He could feel the air around him becoming static with electricity. He could see a pale purple light surround Squall and his normally blue-grey eyes were steadily turning a golden colour. The last person Cid had seen with eyes that colour had been Edea, right before she disappeared.

"Cid, you have no idea what I've been through. Do you know how excruciating it was for me to begin SeeD training? Knowing that every single class I was in was nothing but a course on how to kill myself? Or knowing that every person in that room was being trained to kill me? Well? What about growing up, knowing that I'm a threat to the whole world and that I shouldn't even be allowed to live? A danger to anyone who tried to get close?" Squall slowly started backing the Headmaster into a wall, his eyes growing more golden by the second, and his voice getting steadily louder.

"Well, Cid? Do you have any idea of the things I've had to see? The pain that I've been through? That I still go though every time I cast a damn spell? Or the number of times I've tried to kill myself? Knowing that I don't belong here, that I don't deserve to live? Do you!?" Squall was almost nose to nose with Cid, his eyes only revealing their true colour by a small ring of blue and grey surrounding his pupils. He swallowed hard and stared back at Squall, afraid to blink.

"No… I don't…" he finally croaked softly. Squall glared angrily at Cid for a moment and then took a step back, blinking. Cid watched as the purple glow disappeared and Squall's eyes reverted back to their original colour.

"I'm sorry," Squall whispered, closing his eyes. "I don't need this. Quistis would be a much better Commander, even Zell or Selphie would be, don't make me do it." The older man took a timid step forward; Squall had frightened him rather badly.

"…Squall. You're the best person for the job. Everyone respects you. You're the best fighter in Garden, you're smart and you're the only person who can possibly beat Edea. There is no one else who can take this job," he replied finally.

"But I don't want it! I don't want everyone to be relying on me! I don't want to be responsible for every life in this building!" Squall shouted. The Headmaster winced and moved a few steps closer to the door. "It's _my_ life and I don't have to do it, dammit!" Cid blinked.

"…But Squall… It's not your life anymore. The moment I handed you your graduation certificate, your life became SeeD's…"

***

Squall lied in his room, staring blankly at the ceiling. _It's not your life anymore…_ That sentence wouldn't leave Squall alone. (Why did I become a SeeD anyway? Why do I subject myself to this? I could have left when I was old enough… couldn't I?)

Squall smiled bitterly. (No, of course I couldn't have, they wouldn't let me leave Balamb Island until I was seventeen, why would they let me out of Garden? …And of course I couldn't attend Garden without training to be a SeeD, it would have looked suspicious otherwise…) Squall sighed and rolled onto his side, staring across his room at the mirror.

(If I did leave, where would I go anyway? I don't have any family, I don't have any friends, I have no where that I could stay… This has been my home for most of my life. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and do what I'm told. I can't really do anything about it… I wonder what the others are doing…) he thought, drifting slowly off to sleep.

***

"Hello Squall."

Squall knew that voice. He'd been hearing it for twelve years. Squall turned around and found himself in a plush sitting room. He didn't take any notice of it; he'd been there many times before.

"What do you want now?"

"Squall… Is that any way to treat an old friend?" Squall's eyes narrowed at the woman who was sitting before him. She'd been invading his dreams for years now, and he still had no idea if she was real or a figment of his ever-so demented mind.

"Quit playing games, just tell me what you want," he snarled at her. The woman smiled slightly and stood.

"Oh Squall. I do love it when you're angry…" she purred, walking around him, appraising him. Squall stiffened nervously as she circled him, feeling a bit like a trapped mouse, right before a cat devours it. The woman stopped, facing him, staring him down with her deep, golden eyes.

"So… How did it feel?" Squall blinked.

"How did what feel?"

"To kill? To watch the blood of another human being flow out of their body? To know that you hold a human life in the balance? How did it _feel_?" she asked, a fire burning in her eyes.

"…I hated it."

"Oh, come now Squall, it must've been such a thrill to know that with one gesture of your hand, you could've watched that arrogant bastard of a headmaster asphyxiate slowly," she said, her eyes glimmering playfully.

"NO!" Squall shouted and closed his eyes tightly. He didn't want to think -- no, didn't want to admit that somewhere, in the depths of his soul, he did feel elation at the fear he had caused Cid. The woman grinned maliciously.

"I'm right though, aren't I? Deep down in that 'pure' little soul of yours, you enjoyed it, didn't you?" Her smile vanished as Squall threw a silence spell at her.

"SHUT UP! IT'S NOT TRUE!" he shouted angrily at her. The woman dodged the spell and readied one of her own.

"Tsk tsk… Squall… You should know better than that," she smirked, mocking him. "You may be more powerful than I am, but I have much more experience, my dear boy." The woman stared at him for a second, her eyes glowing brightly, and then she threw a fireball at him. Squall fell back, sliding into the wall behind him. He coughed and stood up, visibly angered.

"Go to hell you witch," he growled at her, and shot a blizzard spell at her. The woman cried out in pain as the spell caught her arm, and she glared at him.

"Alright, if you're going to play rough then…" she snarled. She stuck her arms into the air and Squall looked up to see a large meteor headed toward him.

"Protect! Shell!" He shouted, curling into a ball as the meteor descended upon him.

***

Squall gasped loudly and sat up in bed; next to him, the mirror shattered. He was breathing heavily and covered in sweat. He looked at the mirror and closed his eyes. He felt like he wanted to cry. Abruptly, there was a knock at his door.

"Squall? Are you in there? What happened?"

It was Rinoa. Squall quickly threw his hand out and watched as the glass replaced itself quickly in the mirror and melded together. He stood up and opened the door peering out at Rinoa.

"…What do you want?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously and tilted her head. Squall blinked and looked her up and down curiously. "Why are you dressed like that?" Rinoa smiled.

"We're going to a concert."

"…_We_'re…?" Rinoa nodded.

"You and me. Come on, it'll be fun," she said.

"I don't want to go…" he told her, closing the door a bit. Rinoa stuck her foot in front of it and pushed against the door with all her weight.

"Oh, come on Squall, Selphie went to all this trouble, and now you're not gonna go? There's no point if you're not there." Squall quit trying to close the door on her and let go, causing Rinoa to fall face-first into the room. "OW! That hurt!" she exclaimed, rubbing her elbows and standing up. "Whatcha do that for?"

"Just go away Rinoa, I don't want to go."

"Fine, then I'm just going to follow you around for the rest of the night and chant 'concert, concert, concert' in your ear until you go…"

"Oh, man… Rinoa…" Squall groaned.

"Concert, concert, concert…"

"I'm not gonna go."

"Concert, concert, concert…" she chanted outside the bathroom door, as he washed his face. Squall came back out and glared at her.

"Go away…"

"Concert, concert, concert…" Squall closed his eyes, he had a headache.

"Fine, I'll go if you stop doing that."

"I knew you'd see it my way. Come on!" she said, grinning. Rinoa took Squall's un-gloved hand and started to pull him out of the room, but Squall jerked away from her. "…What?"

"Don't touch me!" Squall snapped, stepping away from her. Rinoa blinked and watched Squall put his gloves and jacket on before shooing her out of the room.

(What was that all about?) she thought, walking next to him toward the second floor exit. (He sounded… scared.)

***

Irvine was standing at the top of the stairwell that lead down to the Stationmaster's house, and to the stage. "She talked you into it, eh?" he said. Irvine pulled Squall to the side. "Looking good… So, like, I found this place. It's perfect for you and Rinoa," he whispered, grinning. "It's nearby the stage. You can't miss it. I left a magazine there. You can thank me later… Just have fun. Let it all out tonight." Irvine winked at him and walked back toward Rinoa. Squall turned and saw Selphie standing there as well, and she looked flustered as Irvine approached. Squall rolled his eyes and followed Irvine, who was trying to put the move on Selphie.

"Hi Selphie," Squall said, diverting her attention away from Irvine. Squall saw the cowboy swear under his breath.

"Hi Squall! Congrats!" she said smiling. "Oh! We gotta get ready, come on Irvine…" Selphie walked away, dragging Irvine behind her. Rinoa giggled at the sight and turned to Squall.

"Wouldn't they make a cute couple?" she asked as she took his hand. Squall shrugged and Rinoa dragged him down the ramp to the stage. Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine were all on the stage when Rinoa and Squall arrived. Squall raised an eyebrow; the gang was going to be the band?

"Squall! You big stud! This is for you! Congratulations! Enjoy the show!" Selphie shouted over the sound system, much to Squall's growing embarrassment. "Rinoa, don't let him get away!" she added, and then turned to the band. "Ready!? A-one, two, three..." The band started playing a folk song. Squall thought it sounded somewhat familiar, but shook his head and followed Rinoa to the side of the concrete island. Sitting on the edge was an open magazine. Squall glanced down at it and covered his eyes. Rinoa leaned forward and laughed.

"Oooh, a naughty magazine," she teased. Squall sighed and sat down on one side of the magazine. Rinoa sat down on the other side.

"You want to talk about something, don't you?" Squall asked, Rinoa could hear the irritation in his normally monotone voice.

"Umm... Yes… Well, it's about your promotion. Things are gonna become really hard for you, aren't they?"

(I don't want to think about it.)

"Squall, I know that things are going to become really difficult for you now. We, as in Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, Zell, and I, were talking about it, and figured that you'll probably try to do everything by yourself."

(Probably.)

"We know you too well. You're pretty predictable. For example, when you start thinking, you tend to frown like this," Rinoa said, mimicking Squall as he put a hand to his forehead. Squall turned his face a little and glared at Rinoa. She giggle and rolled backwards as he thrashed his arm out, as if to hit her. Squall started to get up.

"I'm out of here," he growled. Rinoa pushed him back down and sat behind him.

"Come on! I'm sorry! Really though, we decided that... well... You can't handle everything on your own," she stated, pushing Squall off the concrete, onto the solar panels below.

"What the fu-!?!" he exclaimed, as Rinoa jumped down after him.

"Right! Just let out anything! An emotion would be nice… Anything at all… We want you to talk to us more. That's it… If there's anything you want to tell us, or anything we can do to help you out, don't hesitate to tell us. I know it's not easy, but we wish you would trust us and rely on us more."

(Nothing lasts in this world. Nothing. I don't want to rely on someone that might be gone tomorrow or next week. Someday you're bound to lose everything. Everybody around you will be gone. Then what do you have? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Rien. Nobody. It's miserable, but inevitable. It's impossible to recover from something like that. I never ever want to deal with that again. I can't. Even if it means being alone… forever.)

"What a night. Good music... Gorgeous guy... And not only is he good-looking. He's the sweetest guy... a great listener. Right now, he's thinking about what I said. He's shy and doesn't say anything, but I know." Rinoa smiled at him. Squall blinked and looked up at her. "So, what do you think? None of our business, right? …Just think about this. This might be the only time we'll all be together, so as long as we're together, we might as well enjoy each other's company."

"...Just for now, huh? I don't want friends who won't be around tomorrow."

"Geez, you're a pessimist. There are no guarantees. That's why the time we have now is important. Squall, we wanna help you, as much as we can, for as long as we can. We love you. There, I said it. Please don't freak out. We just wanna live through this time with you, together."

"Love? How can you love me? You don't even know anything about me…"

"That's the point of talking Squall, so I can learn things about you."

"What if I don't want you to learn things about me? What if after you learned these 'things,' you never wanted to speak to me again?"

"I doubt that would happen Squall…"

"How do you know?" Squall snapped at her. "Just leave me alone, and we'll get along fine… I'm going back to bed." Then he turned and left Rinoa standing there.

"…Squall…"


	14. Trabia

TOOM13

Quistis turned around at the sound of the elevator. She saw Squall come into view and sighed. He looked horrible, his hair was even more mussed than usual and he had circles under his eyes. He looked as if he hadn't slept well last night.

"Good morning Commander!" Xu said cheerfully. Squall turned his gaze to her and frowned.

"…Don't call me that," he said. It didn't sound like a request.

"Oh, well Quistis and I thought you should have a title, and that's what we came up with."

"Xu and I took the liberty of assigning duties, if you don't like it then you can change it, but Xu is in charge of Garden's supplies, I'm in charge of helping Dr. Kadowaki with the students, and you can take care of all the battle plans and such. Is that okay?" Quistis informed him. Squall shrugged and looked at the third person in the room, he was at the pilot's controls. "Oh, Nida is going to be Garden's pilot."

"Where do you want to go first, sir?" Nida asked, saluting. Squall thought for a second.

"…Trabia Garden," he finally said. Quistis looked surprised.

"What? It was destroyed! We need to find the sorceress, not look through the rubble of some destroyed Garden!" she exclaimed. Squall's eyes narrowed.

"There might be survivors, and it's as good a place as any to start looking for the sorceress," he snapped. "Set a course, and let me know when we get there," Squall told Nida, and then left the bridge.

***

The six teenagers stared in shock at the wreckage before them that was once Trabia Garden. Doctor Kadowaki and her medical team had entered the demolished Garden moments after Balamb Garden had landed. Selphie gazed at the wreckage for a moment and then ran down the hill and entered the Garden. It took everyone else a moment to recover and follow her.

"She must be in shock…" Irvine said, watching Selphie run from person to person, trying to help everyone at once.

"Maybe…" Rinoa answered, walking after her. The other four stood there, waiting as Rinoa talked to Selphie, who was taking everything much better than they thought she would. After a moment, Rinoa nodded and came back to the group.

"She wants us to wait for her on the basketball court. It's back here," Rinoa said, gesturing for them to follow her. The others exchanged looks and followed Rinoa toward the basketball court. They reached the ruined court in a matter of minutes and spread out, each person delving deep into their own thoughts, thinking of different ways to comfort Selphie, and coping with the problem at hand in their own ways. Squall finally spoke up.

"We're leaving here as soon as Selphie comes back," he said. The others nodded and began to go back to their thoughts when Zell stepped forward.

"Why did the sorceress come into a picture all of a sudden? Was she actually waiting for this opportunity? I wonder if she was living a normal life before all of this?" he thought outloud.

"But why the search for Ellone? Ellone, inviting us back to the past, whereas the sorceress searches for it. Could it be the sorceress is trying to make that journey into the past, too?" Quistis said. Finally, Rinoa took a step forward and breathed in deeply.

"You know, ever since I met all of you, I've been doing some thinking. I can't stop thinking about this, and I can't come up with an answer, either-" she started, but then Selphie walked onto the court. 

"Sorry you had to wait. Thanks for coming all the way out here," she said, glancing at Squall. Irvine came up to her and tried to smile.

"You gonna be alright?" he asked. Selphie nodded.

"Yeah… Thanks… Take me with you when you fight the sorceress, ok? I wanna get even. I want my revenge!" she replied. Rinoa turned to the group hesitantly.

"Do we have to fight? Isn't there another way?" she asked. Zell stood back a bit and eyed her suspiciously.

"Huh?! What are you sayin'?" he exclaimed.

"I dunno… Maybe someone really intelligent can come up with a different way, so we wouldn't have to fight anymore..." she replied.

(If someone could come up with something, that'd be great, but no one's doing anything. They're all just as scared and uneasy as we are, Rinoa... All they do is complain. They just pretend to be thinking. They criticise others, but in the end, they can't do anything, either. Rinoa, why all this, all of a sudden? What do you expect from me? I grew up in Garden. I'm a SeeD... and a sorcerer. Do you understand?) Squall was absorbed in his thoughts.

"Squall? You have to think outloud, or else I won't understand," Rinoa told him, smiling a little.

Squall thought for a second and then spoke; "You were part of a resistance movement in Timber, right? Unlike other people, who were all talk, you took to your weapon and fought. Now you're saying all this? What's happening?" Rinoa shrugged.

"I guess I'm just getting a little scared. When I'm with all of you, I feel like we're on the same wavelength, you know? Then when we go into battle, it's different. Everyone's tempo picks up and I get left behind. I try to catch up, but it's no use... Once I catch up, I wonder...Is everyone safe? Will we all make it back together? When I start thinking like that..."

"Rinoa, I understand," Irvine stated. "Someone might not be there; someone you love may disappear before your very eyes. It's tough when you live your life thinking that way, but that's why I fight." Irvine glanced at Squall. "When I was a kid, about 4 or so, I was in an orphanage. There were lots of other kids there too. It was around the end of the Sorceress War, so I guess it wasn't too uncommon. Anyway, that's where I was, and out of all the kids there, one was very special to me. I really liked this girl, and it made me so happy just talking to her," he finished.

"Was that orphanage a stone house?" Selphie asked.

"Yeah..."

"An old house made of stone? By the ocean?" Quistis inquired.

"Yes... I knew right away, when we first met that you two were from the orphanage," Irvine told them.

"Hey! Why didn't you tell us!" Quistis and Selphie exclaimed at once.

"Cause you two seemed to have forgotten… Spunky little Sefie and bossy little Quisty."

"Hey, do you guys remember setting off fireworks?" Zell asked suddenly.

"YEAH!" Selphie exclaimed. "The house was by the ocean and there was a lighthouse!"

"We did set off fireworks!" Quistis grinned at the memory.

"If I remember that, does that mean I was there, too?" Zell queried anxiously. Irvine nodded. "Then what about my parents in Balamb?"

"The Dinchts in Balamb must have adopted you," Quistis said.

"Yep, that's probably what happened," Irvine agreed. 

"Oh my god!" Zell exclaimed. "Seifer… He was there too, I remember him teasing me."

(Seifer... Seifer was always Seifer. Zell... Always crying and screaming. Irvine… Following Selphie around like a lost puppy dog. Quistis... You were bossy and difficult to get along with. Selphie... Always full of energy…) Squall thought.

"Yeah, Seifer was there, too. Except for Rinoa, we were all there," Irvine said pointedly. Everyone turned to Squall.

"Hey! That means..." Selphie began.

"Yeah... I was there, too," Squall said. "I... I was always sick and waiting for 'Sis' to come back." Squall turned away from the others, ashamed of his memories of himself, standing in the rain on the porch of the old house, crying for "Sis" to come back.

(...I didn't turn out ok at all…)

"'Sis' was Ellone. There was Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Seifer, Ellone, and me..."

"She's the one that takes us back to Laguna's time," Selphie pointed out. 

"She said she wanted to change the past; I don't know why."

"There can only be one reason for that." Quistis stated. "She must not be happy with the present."

"Hmm... So, Sis is Ellone, eh?" Irvine contemplated that for a moment. "Everyone was fond of Sis, but you, Squall, you kept hoggin' her for yourself. Then, shortly after she left, you got sick, and stayed sick, all the time. You were so sick that even Seifer was nice to you."

"You sure have a good memory. I don't think I was adopted because of the way I am," Squall replied carefully.

"Probably the same with Seifer, too. You two must have been at Garden by the age of 5 or so..." Irvine concurred. 

"Even so, he's never mentioned anything about growing up in an orphanage," Quistis said. "I... I think I remember though. Yes, I remember now. Things didn't work out at my new home. So I came to Garden at the age of 10. That's when I first noticed Seifer and Squall… They were always fighting. Seifer was a kid who always had to be the centre of attention, but you would always ignore him. Eventually they would end up fighting, at least until puberty… Then for some reason Seifer quit picking fights with you."

"Why is it that we forgot? We grew up together as kids. How is that possible?" Selphie asked.

"How about this? The price you pay for using the GF." Irvine answered. "The GF provides us its power, but it makes its own place inside our brain..."

"So if we keep relying on the GF, we won't be able to remember a lot of things?" Zell wondered.

"There's no way Headmaster Cid would allow such a dangerous thing!" Quistis argued.

"Then how is it that Squall and I remember, while everyone else had forgotten? Well? In my case, I hadn't junctioned a GF until recently. That's why I remember a lot more than you guys," Irvine snapped. Quistis glanced at Squall and then turned to Selphie.

"What about you, Selphie? Your first experience with the GF was when you came to Balamb Garden, right?" she inquired.

"Well, I have a confession to make… When I was 12, I went on an outdoor training session. I found a GF inside one of the monsters I had defeated and I junctioned that GF for a while. So I have experience with GF, too. But...but what about you Squall? You've been at Balamb almost your whole life and you remember more than Irvine does!" Selphie noted.

"…I've only ever junctioned a GF once… For the Fire Cavern test…" Squall replied quietly, avoiding Quistis's eyes. She stared in shock at him and was about to say something when Zell interrupted her.

"What should we do?"

"Nothing," Squall told him.

"What do you mean nothing!?"

"What do you want to do? You wanna stop using GF now? As long as you continue fighting, you're indebted to the powers of the GF. If that's the price you have to pay, then you'll gladly pay it, I know you will." Squall disputed.

"Are you sure that's what we want!? …Maybe it's for the best. Yeah... I don't care if I forget about my childhood, it was all just Seifer picking on me. What's important now is having the power to protect my parents in Balamb. They adopted me, and there's no way I'm lettin' go of that power!" Zell conceded.

"Hey... Do you all remember Matron?" Irvine suddenly said. 

"Yeah, She was always wearin' black..." Zell replied. "I see a resemblance. Matron and... They look alike..."

"I just pictured her face, and..." Selphie said as her eyes grew wider.

"Yes, she was very kind, with long black hair. I really admired her," Quistis told them.

"Look alike? That's not it... Matron's name is Edea Kramer… Matron _is_ Sorceress Edea," Irvine pointed out. Everyone except Squall and Rinoa stared at Irvine in shock. "You're probably wondering why Matron would take over a country, and fire missiles, etcetera? At this point, we probably wouldn't comprehend it even if we tried.

"SeeD and Garden were all Matron's idea, right? I'm not a SeeD, but I share the same feelings with you. SeeDs are supposed to fight the sorceress, right? …Squall, you listening?" Irvine stopped suddenly and looked at the young commander, who was lost in his thoughts.

"Sorry, yes, I'm listening."

"So, like, what I wanted to say is that I understand what Rinoa's saying. I understand, but I'm still gonna fight. I want to stay true to everything I've stood for. I'm sure it's the same for everyone. That's why I thought it'd be best if everyone knew we would have to face Matron. I know our opponent is Matron, whom we all love very much, and we might lose something very important on account of the GF… But I don't mind. It's not like I drifted here on the tides of fate. I'm here because I chose to be here. And more importantly... Somehow, we're together again. Just like old times, though a lot's changed. We're not kids anymore...We're strong enough to take care of ourselves. Make our own decisions, and we're confronting a big one right now. Do we fight Matron or not? I say we fight. Shoot for a common goal. Hey, at least it'll keep us together a little longer," Irvine concluded, shrugging.

"Yeah. Let's do it. We can't run from her for the rest of our lives," Zell agreed.

"It's such a bummer, I can't believe we have to fight Matron," Selphie said dejectedly.

"I know, but Zell's right. We can't run from her forever," Quistis replied. Squall nodded and turned to Rinoa.

"Rinoa... It's up to you. We're gonna fight... I think it's the only way we can move on with our lives. If that makes any sense at all, come with us. I'm sure that's what everybody wants," he said softly. Rinoa looked into his eyes and sighed. He was right, it was what _she_ wanted

"Yo, you wanna go check out Edea's orphanage?" Zell asked suddenly.

"We might find a clue," Irvine said, shrugging again.

"Clue? You mean as to why Matron turned out like this?" Quistis asked.

(It probably has to do with something that happened in the past…) Squall thought. "Despite what truth we find, it's not going to change the present, but... I wanna see, too. I don't know what we'll find, but let's go back," he said finally. Rinoa nodded.

"I guess that's it. We're fighting... You guys are fearless," she said.

"Rinoa, I wish we didn't have to fight, either," Squall said. She smiled a little and nodded. "Let's go," he said finally. Everyone took one last look at the ruined basketball court and followed Squall back to Garden.

***

Squall leaned against the balcony rail and stared out at the sea. He had just gotten out of the training centre and was rather tired, and a little nauseous. Doctor Kadowaki had suggested he do it without his gunblade, to get used to the magick use. They couldn't have him passing out in the middle of a battle with the sorceress, now could they? He sighed. Why him? He asked Hyne that everyday. Why couldn't he have grown up a normal child? Why did he have to be the one that had absorbed the sorceress powers? Why didn't they kill him? Why? He watched the ocean and thought about the conversation at the basketball court. Quistis was suspicious. What could he say to wipe away that suspicion? She had already seen that he never drew any magick, from anything. Truth be told, Squall didn't even know how to draw magick or GF's. He had never needed the knowledge. Same with junctioning; he knew how to do it with GF's only out of necessity, but he hadn't a clue as how to go about junctioning spells. He'd always thought junctioning was a bit annoying, but he was sometimes jealous of those who could just draw and junction magick. He had to learn a new spell, they could just absorb it into their minds.

Squall sighed; he was tired. They were going the long way around to Edea's house because of the bridge that connected Galbadia to Esthar. It was too small for Garden to go under, and too big for Garden to go over, so they had to go around. It was a long and tedious journey, but had to be done if they wanted to go to Edea's house. Squall was still extremely curious as to why Edea suddenly left. The others didn't remember, but she had been at Garden until they were nine. Then one day she just up and ran off. Squall stared at the ocean and thought about the day before she disappeared. He remembered that Matron hadn't been feeling well that day and ended their lessons early. That night, Instructor Shinomori had awakened him around 2am. He had wanted to know if Squall knew where Matron had gone, because she was missing.

"What are you doing out here? Isn't it cold?" wondered a voice behind him. Squall turned his head sharply and saw Rinoa. She walked up next to him and smiled. "Are you okay?" Squall turned his gaze back to the darkening ocean.

"I'm fine."

"Oh. You looked a little distant."

"I was thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing important."

"…Squall why do you do this?"

"Do what?" He turned his eyes to her. She looked very pretty in the fading light; like a porcelain doll. Squall shook his head a bit; he didn't need to be having thoughts like that right now.

"Push people away."

"I don't push them away. I don't let them get close enough to be pushed away."

"See? You don't let people get close and when they try to, you run away. Why?"

"…I'd rather not talk about it."

"Why?" Squall started to walk away but Rinoa grabbed his arm. "You're doing it again."

"I don't want to talk about it Rinoa. You wouldn't understand anyway."

"Wouldn't I? How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Try me."

"I'd rather not, now leave me alone," he replied, pulling out of her grip, and brushing his coat off as he walked away from her. Rinoa stood on the balcony for a little while longer, thinking.

"Squall, you've got quite a wall there, but I'm gonna break it down if it's the last thing I do."

***

__

Sorry, I forgot the author's notes first time around. Okay, I know it took a while, but these things happen. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner, but if it's late, don't whine, 'kay? I've been sick lately. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, the end is about the only truly original part of it.

-Rhyein


End file.
